


cuts your heart in two

by enamuko



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-28 12:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 60,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6329683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enamuko/pseuds/enamuko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When your fate is bound to your bloodline, but your heart still feels the tug towards loyalty. Perhaps there is more to the Nohrian tactician and the young princess bound to two worlds than meets the eye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. mark the pages of history today

**Author's Note:**

> Being the Iagorrin trash that I am, I thought to myself 'wouldn't an Iagorrin fic set in the Birthright timeline (rather than the Conquest or Revelations timeline where I usually imagine the pairing) be interesting?' And so here we are.

_The northern fortress was a desolate, drafty place that Iago would have never chosen to set foot in if not for his orders. Far away from anything of even remote value, it would have been an outpost left mostly to the rats and elements if not for the royal family's 'special guest'._

_Being the king's trusted adviser certainly had its perks, but few realized it also had its downsides. Iago was frequently the only person Garon felt he could trust in matters of great importance, which meant that even incredibly undesirable tasks often fell to him. At the very least his time spent at the northern fortress was often uneventful, meaning he could bring his work with him and at least get_ something _productive done. And because none of the staff there cared much about him one way or the other, he was left in relative peace during his stay. It actually would have been quite nice if not for the damp, the cold, the vermin—_

_"You dropped this."_

_Iago nearly jumped out of his own skin at the soft, quiet voice and the feeling of someone tugging on the edge of his sleeve. Sure, he'd been stalking through the fortress halls lost in his own thoughts without much attention being paid to what was going on around him, but it couldn't have been_ that _easy to sneak up on him—could it?_

_He turned to see the perpetrator and immediately felt unsettled. That was just an effect the young 'princess' had on him, with her odd red eyes and vacant expression. Since Garon had showed up with the child in tow, she had barely spoken a word to anyone and wandered around as if in a daze—no doubt in part due to the trauma from seeing her_ real _father shot down in front of her, and the lingering effects of the magic meddling Iago had done with her memory at the king's behest. Why his majesty wanted to take Sumeragi's child and 'raise' her as his own he didn't know, but that was Garon's business, not his._

_The little girl, dressed up in some of Princess Camilla's hand-me-downs, held out a sheaf of papers he'd had tucked under his arm that must have fallen as he was walking. He quickly snatched them away from her and tucked them back into the pile of books and tomes he was carrying. If she had an emotional response to the rude treatment, she certainly didn't show it._

_"..thank you, your majesty," he murmured, somewhat begrudgingly. He was in charge of making sure she was comfortable and taken care of according to Garon's wishes, but he could barely stand to be around the child. For all their vacancy, her eyes were rather piercing.._

_"Milady, where have you wandered off to? You know it's time for your morning exercises." He wasn't sure if he felt lucky or not when Gunter appeared from around the corner in search of the young girl. The knight caught sight of him and glared, which he returned with just as much venom. They'd never been particularly fond of each other, to say the least._

_She bowed oddly to him, a Hoshidan gesture that made him fear his memory erasure hadn't taken root quite like he had hoped it would, and scurried off in the direction of her caretaker. She all but latched onto his leg and Gunter murmured something to her as he guided her off, something about keeping out of Iago's way while he was at the fortress. A thinly veiled attempt at warning her away from the tactician without delivering immediate, punishable disrespect, certainly, but it suited him just fine._

_It wasn't as though he_ wanted _the 'princess' to be constantly underfoot._

 

* * *

 

"..I've failed, Father. Corrin chose to side with the Hoshidans. No doubt they've brainwashed her somehow."

King Garon let out a discontented 'harrumph' while Iago stood at his side, trying not to look disturbed or uncomfortable at that revelation. Had his magic failed? The princess' memory shouldn't have returned, given the locks he'd put in place, but there was always the possibility..

"It hardly matters. As a traitor to the crown, she _will_ be dispatched along with the rest of the country's royalty for standing against me."

"F-father.. you can't possibly mean that..?"

"Are you questioning me, Xander?" It was only years of practice that kept Iago from flinching at the tone in Garon's voice, a kind of cold rage that would make anyone facing off against him think twice. Iago could certainly remember a time or two the tone had been turned against him, and all of the implied threats it carried. He would have felt for the crown prince if not for the fact that Xander _certainly_ should have known better by now; he hardly had the time or energy to pity idiocy.

"Of course not," Xander replied quickly. "All I ask is that you give the others and myself a chance to see if she's under some kind of Hoshidan witchcraft before you.. execute her. She may not be at fault for her own actions."

"Hmph. Do as you see fit, but don't forget where _your_ loyalties lie, Xander. Corrin has sided against her family _and_ her country. Such acts must _not_ be tolerated, lest we encourage the growth of the seeds of rebellion.” Garon let out a vague growling noise originating in the back of his throat and waved his hand dismissively. “Leave me now. I'm certain you all have other matters to be attending to.”

The royal siblings, all with their own carefully hidden pained expressions, filtered out of the room. Iago was the last to leave, bowing respectfully to Garon on his departure.

The large double doors of the throne room had barely closed behind him when Camilla appeared in front of him, arms crossed and expression stern as if she thought she could intimidate him. And while he certainly had to admit that the eldest living princess had a great deal of battle prowess, she was centuries away from being able to do _that_.

“Lady Camilla,” he said flatly, trying to walk around her. As he expected, it failed; she moved to stand in front of him once again, blocking his path. “To what do I owe the _honor_?”

“Iago, you can't possibly be thinking of going along with what Father said,” she said, staring at him hard. “Corrin has always spoken so highly of you.. and I know you're fond of her as well, try as you might to hide it. How can you just stand there and listen to him tell us to execute her?”

“You must be mistaken, milady,” Iago replied plainly. “I have no room in my heart for traitors. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a war to plan for and an army to command. You should see to your own preparations; I'm certain you have your own orders to follow through on.”

Thanks to Camilla's stunned expression he was easily able to brush past her this time, glad to be through with _that_ distraction.

He had a great deal of plans to make, and very little time to make them.

 

* * *

 

_“Iago?”_

_The sorcerer narrowed his eyes, glaring at the intruder in spite of her royal status and the fact that she was still a child._ No one _interrupted his work time, or entered his study unannounced; it didn't matter who they were. Surely even someone as thick as Gunter had been able to teach her that much._

“ _..what is it, your_ majesty _?” The heavily venemous emphasis placed on that last word should have been enough of a hint to young Princess Corrin, but he'd never accused her of being particularly bright—not that many children were to begin with. Considering what he was sure her education consisted of here in the northern fortress, he couldn't say he would be very surprised._

_In stockings but no shoes, for whatever odd reason children had for doing the things they tended to do, the princess approached his desk with a heavy book clutched to her chest. She had made progress from the vacant-eyed youth she'd been when he'd first come to the fortress, but she still had a very long way to go before she could properly be considered a member of Nohrian royalty—if that would ever happen. Honestly, Iago knew very little of what Garon's plans were for the newest 'addition' to the family, but it didn't concern him any more now than it had been years ago._

“ _Can you teach me how to use magic?” The question threw him for a loop, particularly when he realized the book she was carrying—and was now setting on his desk, thankfully mindful of the stacks of books and papers he had scattered about—was some old book or another about the history and practical applications of spell casting. No doubt she had found it left to gather dust in the fortress library, which he heard Corrin liked to frequent in order to chase off boredom._

“ _Milady, you should know I'm_ far _too busy to concern myself with your personal whims like that.” For emphasis he continued stamping official documents, what he'd been in the process of doing when she had first come in, with perhaps a bit more force than was strictly necessary. “Surely you can find some other way to amuse yourself. For that matter, aren't you in the process of learning swordplay? The art of spell casting can be a very difficult path—perhaps you should focus more on something more your own speed.”_

_It caught him off guard, the stern but almost hurt look on her face. “I want to learn as much as I can,” she replied quite adamantly. “And Gunter says you're the strongest mage in Nohr, so—I thought I wouldn't be able to find a better teacher than that.”_

_Maybe it was something in the way her eyes still unsettled him; maybe it was the fact that her adamant but polite personality was enough to defuse him, if only temporarily. He tried to fix her in a hard stare, but it was difficult when he found himself unable to look her dead in the eye for very long._

“ _..very well. I_ may _consider instructing you on some of the_ basics _of spell casting.. but only if you read that book you have in your hands cover to cover, and write a properly formatted essay explaining why you believe it's important for you to learn magic as a result of having read it, by the next time I return._ And _you're able to keep up with your studies while doing so_.”

_Iago leaned across his desk and folded his hands, hoping his rough attitude and the work load would be enough to discourage her from this idea she seemed to have firmly cemented in her head. If anything, though, she looked only_ more _determined._

“ _Alright, Iago,” she said with a nod. “But you have to promise that if I do it, you'll teach me. Okay?”_

_He smirked, feeling smugly amused. How demanding children could be.. He was quite sure she wouldn't be able to accomplish it in the month or so between when he was leaving and when he was to return. “It's a promise, princess. But only if you leave me to get some work done. Right now.”_

_With a brightness in her eyes that Iago hadn't yet seen since Garon had taken her in, Corrin grabbed the book she'd found back off of Iago's desk and scampered off to get a start on her new 'homework' assignment. He sighed, going back to the small mountain of paperwork that he had accumulated on his desk, assuming of course that the child would forget within a few days about the venture and get distracted by some other inane pastime_

 

* * *

 

If there was one constant in life, it was the fact that Iago's study was a place no one ever entered on pain of death. It was his private space, his one reprieve from having to interact with the rest of the world in the capacity of Nohr's highest ranking figure next to the royalty themselves, and some of the things he studied were things no sane human being should logically want to expose themselves to. So he could be sure that not even Camilla and the other royal siblings, no doubt all brainstorming their own ideas and schemes in relation to this war, would decide to bother him once he retreated to its relative safety.

The door clicked shut behind him as he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. A headache was tightening behind his eyes, close to developing into a full-blown migraine. This was no doubt going to be a difficult task, even for someone of his intelligence and position. He certainly had a lot of work to do before the next deployment of troops, or Garon's next round of increasingly mad orders.

Walking over to his desk, he settled into his specially crafted and padded chair, spreading his hands across the wooden surface. Garon's unfortunately rapid descent into madness since the death of Queen Arete had left Iago mostly in charge of the day to day of running the kingdom; how many potentially world-changing, earth-shattering documents had passed over his desk since that day? Too many to count, for sure.

What he was about to write was sure to be yet another one. A fresh sheaf of paper laid in front of him and quill in hand, he quickly started scribbling out a series of missives, a series of orders that would be issued to each general and commander of the army when the time came. It was very important that each of them was precise and carefully worded; the last thing he needed was for his very specific orders to be misconstrued.

When the first group of orders was written and set aside to allow the ink to dry before Iago sealed them and sent them away to their intended recipients, he paused in his writing and leaned back in his chair. His shoulders ached, as much from his habitually poor posture as from the stress of the situation. It wasn't every day that you had to plan for the official start of a war, after all—not even as the tactician of Nohr. His eyes wandered around his study, mostly dark except for the places lit by the flickering of candle flame, until they eventually fell upon a heavy book sitting on one of the many shelves that covered the walls.

Rising from his seat and stretching his muscles, which had gotten sore and tired during his time spent hunched over his desk, he wandered idly over to the shelf and pulled the book from its place. He brushed dust from its surface; he hadn't touched the thing in years, hadn't needed to. It was simply an old tome covering the military history of spell casting, as well as some of the non-combative uses people had found for magic over the years. The thing was decades out of date and had been _far_ too simple for someone like him even when it had still been relevant.

Tucked in between the thick, worn pages of the book was a gathered group of papers, with ragged edges and starting to turn yellow with age. The barest hint of a smile quirked at the edges of his lips as he pulled the papers out, looking over the all too familiar title printed at the top of them.

 

_A Paper on the Importance of Learning Battlefield Magic_

_By Corrin_

 

Iago returned the heavy history of magic book to the shelf but carried the old essay with him back to his desk. Those letters weren't going to write themselves, after all, and he didn't have much time to spare. Too many delicate things hung in the balance now that Nohr and Hoshido's hostilities had come to the breaking point.

Too many delicate, precious things.

 


	2. this is a war of revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope is a mistake, but sometimes it's all you have. Corrin contemplates the reasons behind a recent string of good fortune amidst the horror of war.

 

_"Iago!"_

_Corrin knew that by all accounts she shouldn't have been so excited to see him. Iago's visits rarely heralded good news, Gunter had been warning her for years to keep away from the strange mage, and he had a distinctly prickly personality. But she could hardly help it. Perhaps it wasn't as exciting as when her brothers and sisters came to visit her, but a visit from Iago was still enough to break up her usual routine. When you spent all of your days around the same handful of faces,_ everything _even remotely new was exciting._

_As her father's trusted adviser approached, Corrin gave him her best formal curtsy. For the longest time she had taken to bowing, but Gunter had taught her that bowing was more traditionally a masculine gesture and curtsies were more typically feminine. She'd been practicing for quite some time, and had picked out her best dress for his arrival that day; she wanted nothing more than for Iago to return to Castle Krakenburg and tell King Garon that she was making great progress. Perhaps if she advanced enough in her studies, both her school work and her studies of etiquette, Father would allow her to live with the rest of the family there._

_"I trust your trip here went well?" Speaking formally was something she was still having to get used to, however; Gunter and the other servants were very lax about that. She always felt so stiff and fake when she tried to force herself to speak that way, but she knew it would be unacceptable for a princess of Nohr to speak so informally except when in the presence of her close inner circle. Iago made for good practice, being so very pedantic about that sort of thing—and the long hours she spent curled up by the fire with the romance novels she had started to take an interest in helped, too. Once you read enough stories about dashing princes and beautiful duchesses, speaking like them started to come easily._

_"Good afternoon, Princess Corrin," Iago replied as he dismounted from his horse, quickly passing it off to the stable hand as if he couldn't be happier to get rid of it. "The trip was.. uneventful. Thank you for asking." Iago sounded just as stiff in his formality as she always felt, which she always found odd. After all, being around King Garon all the time should have made him an expert. Maybe it was just her. She'd always gotten the impression that Iago, for whatever reason, felt a little strange around her. "Your siblings send their regards, and as always, King Garon is interested to see how far you've progressed since my last visit."_

_The small retinue of servants Iago had brought with him scurried around as they carried his belongings to the guest quarters where he would be staying for the few days he was there. You would have thought_ Iago _was the king based on the way everyone seemed to run around like headless chickens to keep him happy. Corrin guessed that must be one of the perks of being her father's favorite adviser._

_"Where is that keeper of yours, anyway? Normally he's right here alongside you to greet me." It was hard for Corrin to keep pace with Iago when he started striding down the hall; his legs were simply a lot longer than hers. But she did her best to keep up with him without running around in an unladylike fashion. He must have noticed she was struggling and so slowed down, which she thought was nice of him._

_"Gunter's just helping the servants get everything ready for afternoon tea," she replied, giving him what she hoped was a demure smile. It was so hard remembering all of the things that went into acting like a proper princess. "We can go wait for him in the sitting room if you'd like?"_

_"That would be acceptable. But first.." He stopped suddenly and looked around as if to make sure no one was watching. Corrin stopped too, peering up at him curiously._

_Iago fished around in his satchel for a moment before pulling out an old-looking magic tome. Her face brightened immediately and she couldn't help but bounce a little on the spot, even if it was 'unladylike'._

_"Now, remember: I am_ trusting _you to be responsible with this when I'm not here to supervise you," he said slowly, holding the tome out for her. "The last thing I need is an earful from Gunter about letting you use such a dangerous weapon on your own. But you're hardly going to improve if I just have you recite history and theory over and over again. If you do something stupid with this, I_ will _be ending our lessons. Do you understand?"_

_"Of course! I promise to be careful." She took the tome from him, careful not to snatch it away too eagerly in case he thought she was being too greedy, and held it to her chest. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she could swear it felt warm to the touch. Still a little overcome with the excitement and forgetting all of the lessons Gunter had been giving her in proper decorum, she lunged forward and wrapped the arm that wasn't holding the tome around his midsection. "Thank you, Iago!"_

_Iago stiffened as she hugged him and for a moment she was worried he was going to get mad at her for being so informal. She was just about to pull away and apologize for her behavior when he sighed and gave her a pat on the top of the head._

_"Yes, yes. Enough of that now. Let's not spend all day standing around in these drafty halls." She smiled sheepishly at him and backed off, clutching the book even more tightly. "And since I'm perfectly capable of finding my way to the sitting room on my own,_ you _should go hide that tome. I don't need you dogging my heels every step of the way."_

_"Right!" Without a second thought she quickly scampered off to hide her new tome in one of her special hiding spots, the places even Gunter and Jakob didn't know about._

_It was turning out to be a good day._

 

* * *

 

There were some choices you just knew had no good solution. Where you knew you were going to be hurt no matter which path you chose. Corrin had read about countless such situations in the novels that lined the walls of the northern fortress' library; so many stories about heroes forced to choose between their ideals and the people they loved, in a pattern that seemed to wind its way through all of history..

Of course, for those heroes they rarely had to actually follow through with such things. There was the occasional bittersweet ending that was an exception, of course, but most people didn't want stories like that. They weren't as inspirational as the stories about the heroes who could stick with their morals and still come out the victor at the end, saving their loved ones and the rest of the world..

Having lived through one such situation, Corrin knew better. If stories like that happened in the real world, surely some kind of miracle would have interfered when she'd been forced to choose between fighting against the family she loved or allowing Garon's reign of terror to continue. No, real life wasn't quite so lucky as that.

“I still don't understand why we've barely run into any Nohrian forces.”

Corrin couldn't tell if Takumi sounded confused or grumpy, but the smart man would have bet on both. After all, things hadn't exactly been easy for them since they'd faced off against the Nohrian royal family.. not that she'd expected they would be. Having grown up on tales of Nohrian martial prowess, she knew what her 'home' country was capable of.. or at least claimed to be capable of.

“Wh-what are you talking about? We've had to fight our way out of Fort Jinya, we were ambushed at Izumo.. and you were there when the Mokushu attacked us!” Sakura sniffled a bit; it was obvious that the entire situation was weighing heavily on her, and it wasn't like any of them had had a chance to rest since the attack that had killed Mikoto. Corrin reached over and rubbed gently between her shoulders, hoping it would help to calm her down.

“I know, but.. it just seems like there should be more. That's all.” Takumi sighed, his angry tension deflating because of Sakura.

“You're right, Takumi,” Corrin interjected. “For one, the force at Fort Jinya was much smaller than I would have expected. Zola and his forces weren't that strong, either.. and the Mokushu might have been allied with Nohr, but they weren't Nohrian soldiers. They were acting on their own.”

The same thing had been bothering her. Yes, she had grown up hearing tales of the might of Nohr.. might that she hadn't seen put into action yet. Maybe it was just the fact that they were away from the main battlefield, but Corrin had certainly expected to encounter more difficulties than they had. She could certainly name a number of different points that would have made for excellent ambushes, and yet they had gotten as far as the port bound for Nohr with only a few minor setbacks.

If it were only Garon at the head of the army, she wouldn't have been _that_ surprised. He certainly seemed like the kind of man who would have favored a more brutal, all-out approach; why would he bother chasing down the royal family who were scurrying about like mice when he could simply conquer the kingdom in their absence? But Garon wasn't the only one in charge of Nohr's army. In fact, as far as she knew, the one who was in charge of military strategy..

Well, this certainly didn't seem like his style.

“I think we should be very careful heading to Cheve. It's entirely possible we could be walking into a trap,” she warned, though her heart throbbed painfully at the thought.

“We'll be careful,” Hinoka replied, with all the grim determination of a woman with a mission. “But if that's where Ryoma is, there's no way we're _not_ going. And anyone standing between us and our brother had better watch out.”

Corrin nodded in agreement along with everyone else, but her heart wasn't quite in it. Not _all_ of it, at least.

 

* * *

 

 

_“You really should be careful about spending so much time around a man like that, you know.”_

_Corrin looked up from her book, carefully marking the page with a spare bit of cloth to avoid creasing the edge. “I'm not sure what you're talking about, Gunter.”_

_The old knight clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Don't try to lie to me, milady. I know you too well for that to work anymore. You know very well that I'm talking about the way you follow Iago about like you're glued to his side.”_

_In an attempt to look casual she had taken a sip of the hot cocoa that Gunter had brought her before bed, but at that she very nearly choked on it. “I—think you're exaggerating things a bit, Gunter,” she replied somewhat hoarsely as she tried to clear the chocolate out of her airway. “You make me sound like some kind of lost puppy.”_

“ _Am I wrong? You certainly look like one when you run around after him.” Corrin pouted in Gunter's general direction, and he chuckled at her. “I kid, milady. But in all honesty, it does bother me how much eagerly you seek him out. Don't think I don't notice all those times you disappear when he's visiting.”_

“ _Don't tell me you're_ worried _, Gunter. Iago is Father's most trusted adviser, after all!”_

“ _Hm.. no, I'm not worried about him doing anything to harm you, per say,” Gunter replied as he took the empty mug from her, though his tone didn't sound completely convincing. Corrin wasn't surprised; Gunter and Iago had never liked each other. “I'm more worried that he might be a bad influence. Royal tactician or no, he's not exactly a savory character.”_

_That made Corrin giggle. Iago was certainly a lot like one of the evil sorcerers right out of one of her novels, right down to the way he dressed and spoke, but she'd never seen him_ do _much other than be rude to the servants. He'd never been the nicest man, but he had always been polite enough to her, even if it seemed like he had to force it sometimes._

“ _Don't worry, Gunter.” She got up from her chair by the fire and wrapped her arms around her longtime caretaker. “I'm not going to run off and become an evil sorcerer or anything. It's just nice having someone new around sometimes. I love you and Felicia and Flora and Jakob.. but sometimes it can still get kind of lonely around here.”_

_Gunter sighed and returned her hug, rubbing her back lightly. “Alright, milady. If you say so. But if that cad gives you the least bit of trouble, all you have to do is tell me and I'll make him regret it.”_

“ _I know you will, Gunter. Thank you.” She held the hug for a few moments longer before pulling away, allowing him to put out the last embers of the fire as she climbed into bed. “Goodnight!”_

“ _Goodnight, Lady Corrin. And sweet dreams.”_

_She waited for the door to close behind him and for his footsteps to retreat down the hall. Once she was sure he was gone Corrin jumped back out of bed and went over to her dresser, straining to reach into the small gap between it and the wall. The tome in her hand wasn't the only one she'd practiced with over the years, but it was still the one she used most often, because it was easy to keep hidden from Gunter and the others. Sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbing the lantern that Gunter left by her bed in case she needed to get out of bed in the dead of night, she took a deep breath and concentrated on drawing the power out of the tome like Iago had taught her._

_She smiled to herself triumphantly when the small magic flame flickered at the end of her finger._

 

* * *

 

“Corrin?”

She nearly jumped out of her own skin, that was how badly Azura startled her when she called her name softly. Corrin was starting to understand why her retainers had always accused her of not wearing shoes simply to scare the life out of them; Azura's footsteps were nearly impossible to hear.

“Oh.. I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry.” Corrin turned to face her counterpart, who was standing in the doorway of her private quarters as if waiting to be invited in.

“Don't worry about it. I guess I was just lost in my own thoughts. Come in, make yourself comfortable.” She put on her best smile the way Gunter had showed her to, even though she didn't at all feel like smiling; even just thinking about Gunter was almost enough to make her start crying..

“I wanted to make sure you were feeling alright.” Corrin was almost starting to think Azura was able to read her mind, and she balked a little at how forthright she was. “You've been a great help in telling us what to expect from Nohr, but I can't imagine all of this is easy for you..”

“I really can't hide anything from you, can I?” Corrin laughed, but it was painfully obvious that her heart wasn't quite in it. “Don't get me wrong, I don't regret the choice I made.. but knowing I'm going to be fighting against the people I've known and cared for my whole life makes me feel uneasy.”

“As it should. I imagine I would feel the same way if I had to fight against Sakura and the others..” Azura sat at her small breakfast table and motioned for Corrin to sit across from her, which she did. “But I couldn't help but notice you seemed especially nervous about us walking into a trap at Cheve.. even more than expected, given the situation.”

Corrin flinched as if she had been struck. Had she really been that obvious? Maybe she wasn't quite as good at hiding her emotions as she'd thought..

“Corrin.. if there's something bothering you, please don't hesitate to tell me. If it's something you feel you can't tell the others.. then I promise to keep it a secret.” Azura sounded somewhat awkward as if she wasn't used to offering comfort. Corrin's second laugh was a bit more genuine, though still more or less bittersweet.

“Azura.. thank you. But.. it's something I don't feel comfortable discussing in detail. I promise I'll tell everyone if I think it becomes a danger to the army, but for now I'll just say that from what I know of the Nohrian army and its tactics, this streak of good fortune seems unlikely..” She cringed at the thought. Given what she'd seen already, she didn't want to hold on to any hope.. but it was hard not to when she didn't have much left otherwise. “I just need to think about it for a while longer. I promise when I'm ready to talk about it, you'll be the first one to know.”

Azura giggled and Corrin felt uplifted by the small, gentle smile on her face. “I'll hold you to that, Corrin. But for now we should both get some rest. I have a feeling the trip to Cheve isn't going to be an easy one..”

“You're telling me. Goodnight, Azura.” She managed to hold her smile until Azura had left the room, at which point her shoulders sagged and she felt the weight of the situation settle on her back again. Gods.. none of this could be easy, could it?

With a sigh she put out the lights and dragged herself over to the bed, flopping down on top of the covers without even removing the protective clothing she wore under her armor. Instinctively she reached for her trusted tome to light the lantern sitting by her bed, only to remember she didn't have it with her—she'd hardly brought any of her belongings with her when she'd gone to the Bottomless Canyon with Gunter, Jakob, and Hans. It was probably still with the rest of her belongings at Castle Krakenburg, if they hadn't been thrown out or burned already given the circumstances.

She raised her hand above her head, remembering the days when she would be so excited to see the hints of flame flickering at the tips of her fingers as proof that she was steadily improving. It had really only been a few years ago, but it felt like an entire lifetime.. Gods, even leaving the _fortress_ felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

_Iago.. what are you planning?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boY HOWDY DO I LIKE TRYING TO WRITE AGE GAP PAIRINGS WITHOUT MAKING ONE SEEM LIKE A PEDOPHILE
> 
> In other news, you might have noticed that certain events got skimmed over in this. Assume that any time in the Birthright timeline that Iago is a dick for no real reason doesn't happen in this weird alternate universe I've crafted. For example, the whole Wind Tribe shenanigans didn't happen and the group was able to pass through the area peacefully. Also Takumi either wasn't possessed in the Mokushu encounter or went a more Conquest-y route with his possession. Honestly quite a lot of the situations that involve Iago popping up and being a dick are more for the sake of turning a situation into something that could actually be a Fire Emblem level. After all, you need constant reasons for the group to be fighting or the entire gameplay element of the game just kind of.. eats itself. From a purely narrative standpoint, they're mostly unnecessary.
> 
> There are a few exceptions, of course. You'll see those when we get to them. :3c


	3. watch for those hiding in the shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a history between them that they could never hope to shake. Iago manipulates things from the shadows.

_"It seems like you're always working."_

_Iago's study in the northern fortress might have been very small and pathetic compared to the one he kept in Windmire, but he still considered it his private space. Which normally meant he would have been irritated at the thought of_ anyone _being there unless it was completely necessary or urgent, though in recent years he'd grown to tolerate the presence of Princess Corrin if she asked his permission to be there—and was quiet._

_Right now, she was not being quiet._

_"Well, some of us actually_ have _work to do, princess." He glared at her in hopes that she would get the message, but if she did she certainly didn't give any indication. Sometimes it was hard to tell if she was as naive as she seemed, or if she was simply playing at it. She certainly had glimmers of intelligence, but you never could tell with teenagers. "Not all of us get to laze around a castle all day, having our every whim attended to."_

_"Ouch. If I didn't know better I would say you were trying to be_ mean _to me." She swung her legs like a bored child, laying across the settee on his general right on her stomach and staring at him from atop her crossed arms._

_"You must be imagining things, princess. I certainly know better." He signed the page sitting in front of him with a flourish, all but stabbing the paper at the crescendo._

_"That's good! I would hate to have to tell Gunter on you." The grin she gave him was small, but filled with the sort of maliciousness that children's minds delighted in. He hated to admit it, but perhaps that old sack had been right about him being a poor influence on the young princess. Not that he was about to regret it. She was much more interesting when she wasn't a naive little girl all but seeping with innocence and good will._

_Or at least she was when he wasn't trying to work._

_"Milady, please enlighten me as to why you seem to enjoy sitting around my office doing nothing at all so very much." He waved the feather of his quill pen in her direction, resting his chin against his curled hand. He glared at her, but he could muster only exasperation and vague annoyance at best, rather than true frustration. She did tend to have that kind of effect on him._

_"I'll answer that question if you do as I asked you to and stop referring to me as 'princess' and 'milady'," she replied, sitting up and folding her legs beneath her. In spite of the fact that she was more or less just lounging around, she was dressed quite finely. He'd noticed she'd taken to doing that for the past few years during his visits, no doubt trying to impress him in hopes he would speak glowingly of her progress to Garon. He could quite reasonably assume that it wasn't how she dressed at_ all _times—after all, the girl didn't even seem to know how to wear_ shoes. _"At least in private. I know how to value your formality in front of everyone you turn your nose up at, but it honestly just makes me feel a little weird when it's only the two of us."_

_He sighed. If he'd had anything to say about the state of her education, it would have never come to this. At least there was no one of importance who would see this kind of behaviour from her. "If that's what you want, Corrin. Now tell me why you're always pestering me at all hours like this."_

_"Hehe.. that's an easy question to answer." She cocked her head at him, laughing like it was some kind of simple joke he simply didn't understand. "It's because I like spending time with you. Even if the feeling might not be mutual."_

_Iago had been prepared to laugh off whatever reason she gave, but that caught him completely off guard. She grinned a little wider at him, resting her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. He was too flabbergasted to even critique her terrible posture._

_"What's wrong, Iago? No witty comeback?" It infuriated him that she was_ laughing _at him, and he hated that he had no way of controlling the way his face flushed because of it. "If you want me to leave, though, I'll stop bothering you. I don't want to be a distraction."_

_Part of him wanted to tell her that simply wasn't possible, but instead he sighed and turned his attention back to his work. "You can stay, Corrin. But only if you can be quiet and let me work. Don't you have a book you could read?"_

_Corrin simply smiled and chuckled at him, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to get any more work done. What a nuisance._

 

* * *

 

 "Lord Iago, we received this urgent message from Zola—it says that it's for your eyes only."

Iago hardly paid any mind to the messenger kneeling in front of him and holding out the envelope. He was more intrigued in the message itself, since the last he had heard regarding Zola was that Lord Leo had exiled him from Nohr after he failed to capture the Hoshidan forces at Izumo. Why he hadn't executed the pathetic little dastard was beyond Iago's understanding, but then, _he_ wasn't royalty, was he?

"Give it here, and then get out of my sight," he sighed, waving the messenger away. The soldier was only too quick to comply, leaving the message on his desk and scurrying away like a rat.

The thing looked like it had been scrawled on the back of a used handkerchief and he hardly wanted to touch it, let alone read it. After all, what could that lowly exile have to say to him anyway? Still, it wouldn't do to potentially upset the king by ignoring something—it was hard to say _what_ would upset him nowadays.

He wouldn't have admitted it under pain of death, but his eyes practically bugged out of his head when he opened the letter and read the contents. The little rat of a mage had used Princess Corrin's mercy to infiltrate the Hoshidan ranks for the purpose of relaying information back to Nohr. No doubt he had come crawling to her, begging for refuge, saying that Garon would not be nearly so merciful as Leo and would cut him down if he got within several miles of Nohr—anything to appeal to that soft heart of hers. It was what Iago would have done were he in the same situation, after all, and while Zola wasn't nearly as smart as him it was not that difficult to take advantage of the young princess' mercy.

It was all there in ink scrawled hastily on no doubt the only scrap of parchment he could find, passed along by whatever means necessary. Everything from the makeup of the army, mostly focusing on those closest to Corrin and the Hoshidan royal siblings, to the potential weaknesses and flaws of those same people, to their exact plans as far as he knew them—the group seemed to be headed for Cheve to meet up with Prince Ryoma, who had gone there upon hearing of the longstanding resistance that they had so far been unable to crush. There was so much writing that Zola had been forced to write small enough that Iago had to strain to read it, words crushed onto the page in a mad and barely legible jumble.

He grumbled at this unfortunate turn, wishing now more than ever that Leo had taken more after his father and had simply chosen to execute the little rat with no regards for what he was sure was Corrin's feelings on the matter. If he didn't do something about this development, all of his carefully laid plans would be for nothing.

At least there were perks to being the king's most trusted royal adviser and the kingdom's tactician. He turned the letter over in his hands as ideas started to flow through his mind, plans to counter the new potential road blocks that had popped up. He rose from his chair and paced the edge of the room in contemplation.

When he stopped in front of the fireplace to gaze into the nearly hypnotic flames, there was no hesitation in throwing the letter directly into the fire.

 

* * *

 

" _Do you really have to go already? Our lessons were just starting to get interesting.”_

_With very little regard for decorum or proper behavior, Princess Corrin sat on the edge of his bed as she watched him carefully pack away his things. He tried not to bring anything delicate when he came to visit the northern fortress, but the longer and longer his visits became the more and more of his work he had to bring to keep on top of it, and he didn't want anything getting disturbed by the long journey on horseback._

“ _Corrin, you know I've already far outstayed my welcome. Your father expected me back a week ago, and now that the stormy weather has finally lifted I hardly have an excuse to stay any longer.” He sighed, exasperated at having to repeat the explanation for what had to be the third time. “Furthermore, I'm sure your keeper is ready to toss me out on my behind whether I'm prepared to leave or not. Why is it that you persist in asking me the same inane questions when you already know the answer?”_

“ _Because I'm hoping that if I try repeatedly, I'll finally get an answer I like for once,” she replied, flopping down onto his mattress. He rolled his eyes at her immature behavior. You would think he would be used to it after so many years, but she still managed to surprise him every so often. At the very least she wasn't nearly as grating as her younger sister.._

“ _Even if it weren't expected of me, I would need to be getting back to the castle soon anyway. There are many delicate situations in the capitol that demand my full attention. I hardly have the time to be playing personal tutor to you.”_

“ _It's too bad I can't go to the castle with you.” Iago didn't have to look at Corrin to predict the slight pout she would be wearing, nowhere near as prominent as it would have been a few years ago but still very much there. For all he complained about her immaturity and naivety, he was sure he could attribute a lot of that to being locked away in a far-off fortress for the bulk of her life. In spite of that she was maturing steadily into a level-headed young woman. “That way we could squeeze in a lesson or two whenever we both had a spare moment. And you would have someone around to keep you from working yourself to death.”_

_He snorted at that as he finished carefully arranging the contents of his first bag, latching it and easing it onto the floor while listening in case anything happened to rattle around inside of it. When he was convinced it was packed tightly and to his liking, he went about doing the same with the next bag. “My position as Nohr's royal tactician and your father's trusted adviser is my pride and joy, princess. I certainly wouldn't appreciate having you there to_ distract _me all the time.”_

_Corrin laughed, but the way she trailed off at the end was far from mirthful. He sighed when he realized that knowing that meant he was obligated to ask what was bothering her. How she managed to draw out that kind of concern from him was something he was_ still _trying to figure out. Something about her compassion must have been infectious, somehow._

“ _..is something troubling you, Corrin?” He narrowed his eyes as he contemplated her. When had he started being able to read her like this? He'd always been observant, certainly, but the emotions of others had never been something he bothered to watch for unless he believed it would be important for him to take note of._

_She sat up straight and looked him dead in the eye. Well, at least he wouldn't have to deal with all of that bandying about nonsense, trying to pry it out of her. “Iago, you're my father's most trusted adviser, like you said—answer me honestly. Do you know why he sent me to stay here, and why he won't let me leave?”_

_Iago felt a strange pull in his chest at that, and suddenly he felt as if he was having trouble breathing. It was those eyes—those piercing red eyes that had unsettled him so when she had been a child. He thought he had gotten over that concern years ago, but here it was again. He wouldn't call it fear, per say, but he didn't know what else to call it—that deeply unsettling feeling that someone could stare right through you and see everything you wanted to keep hidden._

_His mind immediately jumped to the excuse he often gave Princess Elise, too young to know better than to question Garon's orders, but when he tried to deliver it in the same offhanded fashion he found the words caught in his throat. The way Corrin was staring at him wasn't harsh, but it still made his intestines twist in unpleasant ways. She simply looked.._ expectant _, and the fact that she seemed to completely expect him to tell her the truth was both strange and unsettling to him._

“ _Corrin.. loath as I am to admit this, I honestly have no idea what your father's intentions are regarding you.” Maybe it was the fact that her eyes reminded him so much of that vacant child she had been when she had first been brought to Nohr. Maybe it was the raw and completely misplaced trust she seemed to have in him. Or maybe he was simply_ actually _losing his mind, finally, something people had been accusing him of for years. For a princess of Nohr to bring that about would only be fitting. But he felt compelled to tell her the truth, or as much of it as he felt safe revealing._

_After all, he could hardly tell her that she wasn't Garon's daughter at all, or exactly how she had come to be taken in. That would be tantamount to treason, and he wound hang for it—or worse. Garon was hardly known for his mercy these days. But telling her what else he knew.. well, it couldn't hurt anything but his pride. And maybe it would get her to stop_ looking _at him like that._

“ _He's kept such matters very close to his chest and I, of course, have never seen fit to question him.” He tried to make it sound as casual as possible, as though it didn't bother him that Garon—who had once trusted him with everything from the kingdom's policy to his own personal matters—would keep such a secret even from him. He wasn't quite sure he succeeded. “I'm certain he has his reasons. And asking such questions is certainly not going to help the matter. Someone might become_ confused _regarding your loyalty.”_

_Corrin visibly flinched at his words, and he was glad the heavy-handed warning had come off as intended. Princess Elise might have been able to get away with such things, but that was only because Garon seemed content to let her be for the most part. As the youngest of her siblings and the least suited both for the crown and the battlefield, she was for the most part not worthy of his attentions. But Corrin.. well, Garon certainly hadn't been sending him to regularly check up on her progress for nothing. He could have simply left it to Prince Xander and the others were that the case, since they did insist on visiting at every given opportunity._

_Though—admittedly not all of his visits were ordered by Garon, though the king didn't seem to think anything of him choosing to make them more frequent. Corrin had managed, against all odds, to instill a sense of concern and guilt in equal measure over the years, things he thought he had well moved past when it came to performing in the name of his liege. Checking in on her regularly kept him from feeling an excess of either—and also helped him to ensure Gunter hadn't been poisoning her mind against either Garon or himself. It really did infuriate him to leave her with such a man, but he was hardly about to question Garon's judgment on the matter—not aloud, at least._

“ _I—I see.” There was a pained look on Corrin's face, but he felt secure in the knowledge that he had told her all he could. “I appreciate your honesty. I know you're only here to keep an eye on me for Father, but I've come to rely on you a little, I think.”_

_She smiled at him, though even he could tell that it was a bit forced. He used to fluster quite easily at her out of the blue exclamations of affection, but he had gotten used to it over the years. Quite an odd thing for him to grow used to, come to think of it.._

“ _I should let you get ready to leave—oh! I almost forgot! I have something for you—don't go anywhere, I'll be right back with it.” And just like that her melancholy was gone, or at least seemed to be. Keeping track of her mood changes was like trying to herd runaway Faceless. Oh well; at least she was happy again._

_She was gone only for a few minutes; she must have run all the way to her room and back. She breathed heavily through her nose as though trying to hide the fact that she was breathing heavily._

“ _I made this for you. I know it's not much and you'll probably think it's silly, but I want you to have it anyway.”_

_He looked down at what she was offering him and she immediately tried to press it into his hands. It looked like a simple wooden carved charm, but his fingers prickled with the feeling of ambient magic._

“ _You.. made this?”_

_Suddenly the princess looked bashful, her pale cheeks taking on a flushed red tinge. “Y-yes, well.. as you can imagine, I have a lot of free time on my hands. And with Gunter and Jakob and Felicia and Flora around so much, I can't really practice with tomes as much as I'd like.. so I thought I'd try something a little different to practice my magic. The library had a book on curses and charms, so..”_

_She cleared her throat and folded her hands in front of her, staring at him expectantly as she waited for some kind of reaction. He rolled the little wooden charm around in his hand, feeling the little ridges pressing into his skin._

“ _Well, it_ is _a very simply form of magic..” He saw her face fall and cleared his throat to indicate he wasn't finished. “But practice is practice, I suppose, and from what I can tell you.. did a good job.”_

“ _I carved it myself,” Corrin replied, smiling simply though the glint in her eyes betrayed her desire to beam brightly. “It's meant to be a charm to encourage safe travel. Here—"_

_She took the charm back and gestured for him to come closer, even though she was already standing relatively near. He did so while watching her fumble to push a rough leather cord through a loop she had bored in the top of the charm._

_Corrin reached up and put her arms around his neck, making him freeze. She fumbled for a little while to tie the cord, having a particularly difficult time dealing with the metal collar of his cape, but eventually managed and step back to admire her handiwork._

“ _Sorry that it's so rough looking. You can replace the cord with a real chain or something when you get to Windmire.” She smiled sheepishly, again folding her hands in front of herself. “Hopefully it will help you get there smoothly.”_

_Iago resisted the urge to sigh. Such charms were usually little more than superstition mixed with a pinch of luck magic, but if it made Corrin happy for him to wear it and he couldn't see any good reason not to, he might as well._

_Perhaps he was simply growing soft._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was mostly flashback. Sorry about that. I got a little out of control in regards to the exploration I wanted to go of Corrin's days in the fortress/relationship with Iago when she was younger.
> 
> Expect more actual plot development next time.


	4. tell the world i'm coming home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concept of loyalty is a malleable one indeed. The true effects of Corrin's betrayal of Nohr start to set in.

 

Corrin felt her hands and legs shaking as she stumbled into the Astral Realm. She wanted to simply collapse into the grass, but she stopped herself, forced herself to remain standing; she couldn't afford to show that kind of weakness, not when her army was depending on her to show strength and self-assurance.

She wasn't sure what had startled her more: seeing Elise and Xander again, not to mention having Xander chase her down, or having Zola executed right in front of her after having him confess he was a traitor. Not that Garon had cared about his loyalty; in fact, he hadn't even known Zola was still loyal to him, and had executed him for daring to show his face in front of him after he'd been exiled.

They had escaped relatively unscathed, at least. That was as much comfort as she was likely to draw from the situation. They had caught the Nohrian army off-guard and so even if they'd been unable to strike against Garon like they'd hoped, there hadn't been casualties in the attempt.

“Corrin, are you alright?” She almost jumped at the hand that came to rest on her shoulder. Between the shakiness and the jumpiness, she knew she was going to have to take a while to rest before they returned to their own realm to set out for Cheve.

She tried to give Hinoka her best smile. Faking a smile seemed to be something she was doing a lot lately, and Corrin felt like she was getting particularly good at it. “I'm fine, sister. Just shaken up. I didn't expect Xander and Elise to be there..”

“You don't need to pretend for my sake. I'm your big sister, you know.” The hand on her shoulder was heavy and comforting, and she wanted so badly to just collapse into it and unload all of her thoughts and feelings onto Hinoka. For the same reasons she knew she couldn't. Besides, Hinoka didn't deserve that. She'd been nothing but kind and supportive of her the entire time she'd been with the Hoshidans, even if she could be a bit rough around the edges; it would have been rude of her to just emotionally unload on her like that.

“Sorry.. you're right. I just.. I knew I would have to face off against my siblings sooner or later, but I didn't think it would be quite so soon, or quite so sudden.” She let her shoulders slump and leaned a little in Hinoka's direction, the most overt sign of weakness she was willing to allow herself at the moment. “Seeing Garon kill one of his own soldiers so brutally strengthened my resolve, though. I just hope I'll be able to talk some sense into my Nohrian siblings before things get too messy.”

“Hm.. I still can't say I care much about the Nohrian royal family after they kept you from us all these years, but I understand how you feel. If I had to fight my siblings, I think I would feel the same way.” The hand on her shoulder moved and turned into a comforting rub on the back, which Corrin appreciated. “But at least things went well for us, right? Or.. well enough. We didn't fight either of them, and none of our soldiers got hurt since we got the drop on the Nohrians.”

“Yeah..” Still, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She'd favored the bold plan when Azura had suggested it, but she'd never expected it to go smoothly. She _knew_ it _shouldn't_ have gone smoothly.

Why had Garon not known about his own double agent, when Zola seemed assured he would? They hadn't intercepted any of his messages or she was sure Saizo would have cut him down with or without her say in the matter. If Xander hadn't shown up when he did, just as flabbergasted as the rest of the Nohrian army, she was sure they would have been able to pull their plan off perfectly.

_Why?_ Why were there so many things that just didn't seem to be adding up about the Nohrian army?

And did she dare to hope she already knew the reason?

 

* * *

 

Iago was a practical man. Though few tacticians would ever carry on the chess metaphor for too long, there was one aspect of it that he always found particularly app: in order to protect one's important pieces, it was acceptable to sacrifice a few pawns.

It was amazing, really, how many people lived or died by Iago's orders every day, particularly now that they were in the midst of a full-scale war with a kingdom that might actually pose a challenge. He never really stopped to think about it, but likely wouldn't have been bothered by it if he had. It was all a part of the ruthless calculus of war, and Iago hadn't risen to the top of his field by not being able to play the numbers game.

That didn't mean there weren't operations Iago found too risky. Quite the opposite, in fact; he trended more cautious than many might think of someone who treated lives other than his own with such casual disinterest. His gambit in Cyrkensia had been _far_ too bold for his taste, in no small part because it had placed the life of King Garon in direct risk. Choosing to keep Zola's betrayal of the Hoshidans hidden had meant toeing a very careful line of trying to keep Garon safe without arousing his suspicions. How to assign him enough guards to keep him safe without revealing that the Hoshidans would most likely be passing through the area, and more importantly, _why_ Iago knew that and hadn't told him?

Iago found himself too restless to stay in one place for long after he'd received word of what had happened at the opera house, and had instead taken to pacing the castle halls while doing his work rather than sitting hunched at his desk. He'd anticipated the presence of the Hoshidans, but not their boldness; to make a strike directly against the king of Nohr! If Prince Xander hadn't been there to drive them off..

Well, he shuddered to think of it. And shuddered equally to think of what might have happened if he'd anticipated such a move and assigned an even larger troop to Garon's guard detail.

How people managed to maintain large groups of friends, he had no idea. Having divided loyalties was far more stressful than anything he could have imagined.

The long halls of Castle Krakenburg seemed draftier and more desolate than ever, but perhaps that was because he wasn't used to looking in every shadow. The king was due back from his nearly disastrous trip to Nestra at any moment and Iago was wholly expecting for someone to blow his entire plan wide open. It at least comforted him to remind himself that it was unlikely that any of the other people in Garon's employ were smart enough to figure it out, and the king himself was likely far too busy with the ongoing war effort to pay him much mind.

A soldier rounding the corner ahead of him during his manic pacing nearly made him jump out of his skin, but he collected himself enough to put on his best stern expression. He felt comforted by the wary, almost frightened expression the young soldier wore on seeing his glare. He at least hadn't lost his flair for intimidation.

“L-lord Iago,” he stammered, trying to maintain his formality even though he was clearly nervous. “King Garon and his entourage have just arrived, and he wants to see you right away.”

“Run ahead and tell him I'm on my way immediately.” Considering even if the soldier ran he would get there no more than a minute or two ahead of him it was an unnecessary command for Iago to give, but it made him feel a sense of smug satisfaction when the fellow scurried off like a startled rat. It served him right for startling him like that.

He steeled himself for Garon's anger at the situation as he made his way to the throne room, back straight and head held high and projecting in every way the image of the eternally loyal tactician he had always been so far as everyone knew. There were no doubt going to be questions about why he hadn't anticipated the attack at Cyrkensia, threats leveled in his direction about what would happen to him if he failed Garon again, and the like. He had heard it all before, and was prepared.

The doors to the throne room were already cracked open upon his arrival, likely because of the messenger he'd sent ahead to announce him. He didn't so much as break stride other than to pause for the heralds to announce him.

“Your majesty.” He bowed deeply and gracefully with ease of practice. “I'm so glad to see you back safe and sound. I was terribly worried when I heard of the attack in Cyrkensia—”

“Enough of your grovelling, Iago.” He winced at the tone of Garon's voice, but maintained his composure. “All I want to hear from you is why the Hoshidans were so easily able to approach our borders.. and how they were able to infiltrate my private performance, nonetheless. I'm sure our master tactician must have _some_ inkling.”

All eyes were on him, waiting for his answer. Some were confused, others were intrigued, and no small number were quite obviously eagerly waiting for him to outright fail. There was no shortage of people who would love his position, with the honor and wealth it came with.

“My sincerest apologies, your majesty. I never imagined the Hoshidans to be cowardly enough to abandon their own homeland in the middle of war. I will surely account for that in the future.” He kept his expression serious but unconcerned. “As for the reason, I can only imagine that someone from Nohr has been feeding the Hoshidans information. After careful consideration, I've determined that the only person in a position to do so would be Zola. Though I'm sure that possibility was the farthest from Prince Leo's mind when he chose to spare him rather than execute him..”

“Hm.” The heavy frown on Garon's face was a familiar sight, though Iago could only remember a handful of times when he'd been on the receiving end. His assertions that he was Garon's most trusted adviser had never been empty; they had been close once. That had been before Garon's heart had hardened and his mind had softened. Now he could never be sure if Garon was going to praise or prosecute him. “Zola tried to claim he was a double agent passing us information, but I of course have not heard of any such thing.”

“Nor I, sire.”

“I suspected as much. Of course I executed him, as befits a sniveling coward and a man who would dare to lie to his king.” The few people still assembled in the room nodded, whether out of genuine agreement or fear they had to agree to avoid an unpleasant fate. Though Garon once held a full court, few remained, too afraid of the king's often violent mood changes.

“A fitting end, I dare say. Of course I will have the traitor's personal belongings searched for any further evidence of treachery, so we may avoid any further near tragedies.” Iago bowed, prepared to take his exit—

“Wait.”

He froze and quickly returned to formal stance, rapidly gauging Garon's tone and posture. He seemed.. bored, if anything. Iago wasn't sure whether that was a sign for good or ill.

“I assume it is your highest priority to locate and _eradicate_ the Hoshidans in our territory, including our own royal traitor.” Garon's gaze fixed him in place, and Iago felt chilled all over, as if one of those Ice Tribe maids were breathing down the back of his neck.

“Of course, my liege. Though the likelihood of such a small and uncoordinated force breaching Castle Krakenburg is laughable at best, one must salt the fields of resistance wherever they are to be found.” The words came easily to him, like a script he had rehearsed time and time again. It was easy to tell Garon precisely what he wanted to hear.

“Resistance.. yes.” Garon let out a noise of consideration, a low humming that concerned Iago. “Which brings me to my next point. If the Hoshidans were to offer aid to those loathsome rebels in Cheve, they may put up enough of a struggle to be an annoyance. Send an attachment to finally stamp out that irritating rebellion.”

Though he maintained his composure _externally_ , internally Iago went through a near alphabetical listing of every swear word he knew. Of course when Garon finally decided to step up and make a direct tactical contribution beyond telling Iago his final goal and expecting him to reach it somehow, it was in direct conflict with the very careful and very _fragile_ web of plans Iago had been spinning.

As much as he might _want_ to scream, though, it would do him no good. So instead he plastered on his best slick smile and bowed gracefully to the king once more. “Of course, my liege. Your will be done.”

“See that it is, Iago. You are dismissed.”

Alright. So this was hardly ideal, but if there was anyone who could figure out how to make it work, it was him. The solution seemed simple enough: he simply had to figure out how to eradicate the rebellion as quickly as possible. If they were all dead once the Hoshidans arrived, then their presence wouldn't matter.

“Hans.” One of the few presences that didn't seem to be bothered by Garon's intensity, if he were even smart enough to notice it—something that Iago very much doubted. “I take it such a simple slaughter is within the realm of your capabilities?”

“You can always count on me and my axe, your tactician-ness.” That alone was enough to make Iago want to hex the buffoon into oblivion, and the ridiculous smug look on his ape-like face certainly didn't help the matter. He still had use for him, though—no point in getting rid of him yet. Still, it was a nice fantasy to entertain.

“Just be prepared to leave as soon as summoned. The sooner this little rebellion is quashed, the sooner the king can focus all of his resources on Hoshido.” He didn't even bother to wait for a response from Hans; he simply swept his way into the halls.

Others began filtering out of the throne room as well; more than likely they had simply been there because they had been summoned, or because they had reports to give to the king. He kept out of their way, wanting only to return to his study so that he might find a way to twist recent developments in his favor. Of course, it seemed like that was not in the cards, so to speak.

“Iago. May I have a word?”

He stopped and pondered just how many times _that day_ the royal family were going to find a way to torment him. Still, he put on his best slightly awful smile for the sake of the eldest princess.

“Of course, Lady Camilla. What might be on your mind?” It was rare for one of the royal siblings to approach him, as none of them seemed to care much for him—he couldn't imagine why. Unfortunately it seemed to be getting less and less rare.

“I want to accompany our soldiers to Cheve. I've felt so terribly useless lately..” She sighed, and it was easy to tell that her melancholy was more than just a simple sense of boredom. Thankfully he didn't much care.

“If that's what you wish, Lady Camilla. I certainly won't stop you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have arrangements to make for just that occasion.” He swept past her with the fleeting thought that he had interacted with her more since Corrin's betrayal than he had for the duration of the rest of her life, before he turned his brain to more important matters.

What a thankless job he had.

 

* * *

 

All of the elaborate adventures Corrin had read told her that she should feel _something_ as they marched on through the lands bordering Nohr— a deep-seated sense of longing, or a vague sense of coming home, or _anything_. But the truth was that she didn't feel anything. All she knew of the country of Nohr was her isolated fortress in the north and her brief visit to Castle Krakenburg.

The desolate countryside felt no more like home to her than the bright and vivacious Hoshido, and though she knew there was good reason for that, it still made her feel like she had failed in some way. She'd known what she'd been doing when she chose to side with Hoshido, but that didn't make it any easier.

“We should reach Cheve before daybreak.” Azura rested her hand on Corrin's shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze. Corrin reached up to clasp Azura's fingers in her own as she stared out across the landscape. She knew she shouldn't simply stand around when the escape from Cyrkensia had been such a near thing, but she couldn't help but feel adrift and disoriented given everything that had happened recently. “We could stop to rest..”

“No, it's okay.” She released Azura's hand, turning back to the caravan that had stopped just briefly to let the horses take a drink and the soldiers catch their breath. Still, delaying any longer than needed for the short break was likely to result in being caught, and she wasn't sure her army could handle a full-scale battle like that at the moment. “We have to catch up to Ryoma, after all. We can take a well-deserved rest after we have him back with us.”

What she didn't want to tell the songstress was that if they stopped for too long she was worried she might lose her nerve. After all, not too long ago she had been locked away in a remote fortress, and now she was expected to take charge of an entire army and lead them against the country she had grown up in. The only thing stopping her from getting overwhelmed was her refusal to stop and think about it too hard for too long.

“Corrin!” She turned to look at Takumi, who was calling to her from where he was waiting with the rest of the group. Hinoka and Sakura stood with him, and she took a deep breath and prepared herself to rejoin them. She'd made her choice, and now she had to live with it.

At the very least she knew the beginnings of how to direct an army. Without that she would be at a _complete_ loss, she was sure.

Was it time for the student to show what she had learned to the teacher, she wondered? It seemed like the obvious conclusion, but the question was—

When? And would she be ready for it?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay between chapters there, friends! I've had my hands full with finals lately, and because this chapter was pretty much entirely plot it required me to actually remember what happened in Birthright, which is surprisingly not that easy for someone who has decided to write an entire fic based around rewriting Birthright. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long-- though I definitely won't make any promises, because I'm known to write at the pace of an actual snail.


	5. by fate's design

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeing is perhaps the most difficult thing of all. Dire need forces a confrontation that no one wanted, and which only serves to confuse further.

 

_“You have a fever.”_

_Corrin almost wanted to chide the man standing over her at her bedside for being obvious, but she chose to stay quiet instead, pulling the blankets up to her chin and snuggling into her bed. Still, the cool hand on her forehead was nice— not as cooling as when Flora or Felicia would feel her forehead, but perhaps more comforting._

_Iago sighed and pulled his hand back, wiping it with a handkerchief as if he was likely to catch her illness just from a single touch. Though he was likely enough to catch it just from being the same room as her.._

“ _I suppose it's not that surprising, given that you insist on running about a stone fortress in bare feet.”_

“ _Maybe the next gift you bring me 'from my father' can be a nice pair of slippers.” She stifled a giggle at Iago's minorly flustered expression behind a fake cough. It hadn't taken her long at all to figure out that the occasional bauble or book or other gift that arrived courtesy of 'the king' was really courtesy of his adviser, particularly when they included things she had specifically mentioned to him that she liked or wanted._

_She supposed it would be exhausting if he were at his tactical best_ all _the time, though._

“ _With what you run around in half the time, it's a wonder you haven't yet frozen to death.” The subject change was pointed and abrupt, and even more amusing._

“ _It's a minor flu, Iago.” The cough she had to pause to stifle this time was real, unlike the previous one. “A few days of rest and I'll be better in no time. No need to worry.”_

“ _I'm not concerned.” He waved his hand idly as he migrated away from her bedside, plucking a log from the top of the pile that the servants kept stacked next to her fireplace. He tossed it into the fire, which was starting to burn down. “Though your whining to your servants might say otherwise,_ I _know you're not dying.”_

“ _As considerate as ever.” Corrin was obviously being sarcastic, but she smiled quite genuinely as she watched him prodding at the fire with the poker to get the new log to catch. His blunt, snarky demeanor was nothing new to her, but she knew that in spite of the fact that it was quite genuine, his actions could often be far kinder than his words— and she had seen him contradict himself enough times to take the bite out of his harsh words. “I'm sorry about my bad timing, though.. Gunter says I'm not allowed out of bed until my fever breaks, not even for lessons.” She shivered; even with the fire and her bed linens, she was cold._

_Iago snorted, turning away from the fire and headed for the door. “You'll simply have to take your health into more careful consideration for my next visit, I suppose.” He paused by the fresh linens Flora had left in anticipation of her sweating through her sheets and eventually grabbed the extra blanket on the top of the pile. He sighed as he approached the bed again and tossed it over her. “Don't expect me to pause in my lesson plan for you, either. You'll have to catch up on your own time.”_

“ _Of course.” She smiled as she watched him retreat, no doubt off to lock himself in his office and bury himself under a mountain of research and paperwork. She didn't expect him to have anything more to say, so it surprised her when he turned around to give her one last parting comment._

“ _..feel better soon, your highness. Corrin.”_

_That left her with an even warmer feeling than the blankets that covered her, and she buried herself under the blankets to hide the slight red tint to her cheeks, even though there was now no one around to see her._

 

* * *

 

“You have a fever.”

Takumi snorted as she held her hand to his forehead, sitting with him in the back of the caravan as they made their way as quickly as possible to Macarath. If they didn't arrive soon..

“You don't need to point out the obvious.” Even Takumi's snark was drowned out under the exhaustion that was clear every time he exerted himself even a little. His breathing was ragged and heavy, becoming a little labored even just from talking.

“Sorry, force of habit.” She moved her hand from his forehead to his cheek, then to his neck, checking on the variance in temperature. Not that it really mattered; at the end of the day there wasn't much they could do other than try to reach the palace and its medicinal stores as quickly as possible. She turned to peer out to see if they were any closer to their destination, but she didn't recognize anything; not that she _should_. It made her useless to think that in spite of the fact she was raised in Nohr, she couldn't find a way to put that to use. The Nohr outside her fortress walls was just as foreign to her as Hoshido had been.. “Don't worry, Takumi. We're almost there..”

She was only guessing, of course, saying what she thought would make him worry less, but it was almost exactly at that moment that the lead of the caravan started passing the news down the line that Macarath was within sight. Maybe.. maybe things would turn out alright after all. Luck had been on their side so far! If they could continue the trend..

Of course, the whole caravan couldn't just walk into the palace and demand treatment for Takumi. The bulk of the army would have to find a safe place to wait and keep an eye out for Nohrian soldiers while a small group, armed to deal with the guards, brought Takumi to the palace so Sakura could find the proper medicine. They fashioned a sort of crude stretcher they could use to carry Takumi without jostling him too much as Corrin discussed with Ryoma who would be best to bring with them to combat any resistance they found.

“With the war going on, Garon wouldn't expend any experienced soldiers on guard duty for a secondary palace, but we should still be cautious.”

“Of course. Even if he's pulled most of his soldiers into the war effort, it would be unwise to leave his territory _completely_ unguarded. Not to mention he now knows we're on our way.” Ryoma was as cool and collected as ever, but as his eyes strayed over the gathered army to watch their progress in setting up camp Corrin noticed his gaze lingering on Takumi in his stretcher ever so slightly longer than it did on everyone else. Her habit of continuously glancing over at him was far less subtle. “We should hurry, though. Every second wasted is potentially fatal.”

Corrin nodded in agreement, all but vibrating nervously. Potential battle strategies started running through her head, though it was hard to think of such things when she didn't know what the inside of the palace looked like or what kind of soldiers might be waiting for them. It was simply something for her brain to do that could distract her from the concerns at hand. Even if her plans could only be incredibly vague, though, it at least made her feel slightly more prepared for a fight that was even more life or death than their usual battles.

Which was why it was so disconcerting when they managed to get into the palace without any kind of resistance.

“This is.. bizarre.” Seeing Ryoma so confused might have been amusing if not for the fact that Corrin was just as confused as he was. She could have seen the logic in only leaving a skeleton guard behind to focus the brunt of their forces on more important objectives, but no resistance whatsoever? It reeked of a trap.

“Who goes there? If you leave now, perhaps I'll be merciful and not tell King Garon you—” Of course, Corrin's sword was in her hand the moment she heard the voice in the echoing marble front hall. Her nerves were too on edge to even realize how familiar it sounded until the source rounded the corner, holding a throwing knife that she was fully prepared to use until she caught sight of their group. “L-lady Corrin?”

She and Felicia, who had been quick to volunteer to join their medicine pantry raiding party, both spoke at the same time. “Flora!”

 

* * *

 

Castle Krakenburg was surprisingly quiet for the castle of a kingdom at war. Perhaps it was the palpable tension surrounding Garon at any given moment seeping out into the rest of the building, or perhaps Iago was simply lucky enough to have avoided the worst of the action at every given turn, but the calm was almost concerning given the time and place. He could even hear his own footsteps echoing off the high stone walls as he made his way to the throne room to give Garon his latest report.

His mind, though, was occupied with things other than the unusual lack of activity, though he did notice it— as he noticed most everything that went on in the castle, whether he cared to or not. The very delicately balanced game he was playing had not gotten any easier, particularly not after Cheve. When Hans had returned to tell the king that the traitor princess and her Hoshidan army had been there and had defeated their small force and escaped with the help of the rebels, it had taken a lot of smooth talking, news of several decisive victories on the main battle front courtesy of his own strategies, and more than a little grovelling to escape Garon's wrath. What a mess he had gotten himself into.. if he could go back and do it all again..

Well, he likely wouldn't do anything differently, much as he liked to think of himself as a rational being with his own best interests at heart. Perhaps he would simply be _smarter_ about it the second time around. It was a nice thought, though he found what ifs and hypotheticals of that nature to be generally pointless.

He walked through the familiar huge doors leading to the throne room after announcing himself and waiting a suitable amount of time for Garon to prepare for his entry. Unlike his last few visits, no one else was in the throne room— not even Hans, who was no doubt off enjoying his new position and status, waving it over the heads of his fellow soldiers and stepping on every set of toes possible.

The day Garon decided Hans was disposable would be the happiest day of Iago's life, as far as he was concerned.

“Your Majesty, I—”

“Save the pleasantries, Iago.” Garon waved a hand dismissively in Iago's general direction, and his mouth immediately snapped shut in the middle of his sentence. “There are more important matters to attend to. After our _setbacks_ at Cheve, I took the liberty of taking certain.. precautions with our defenses at Macarath. As none of our forces have sent news of the destruction of my traitorous child and her Hoshidan accompaniment, I can only assume they have further breached the borders of Nohr due to _your_ tactical failings.”

To hear Garon say that made Iago feel like he was being stabbed in the chest with a blade of ice, but he managed to maintain his composure.

“I've placed a spy within their likely path who will lure them into a trap of her own design. I want you to monitor the situation and ensure things go according to plan. Surely you can managed that much.”

“..of course, your Majesty.” He swallowed his feelings on the matter, the horrible mix of shame and anger that bubbled up in a strange hollow place in his chest. Instead he tried to occupy himself with more important matters and feelings— namely the dread welling up in him at the realization that Garon had some plan entirely independent of anything he knew or had a plan for how to deal with. Something that existed outside of his very carefully laid web, which even the slightest tug could unravel.

There was always _something_.

“Excellent. The spy is stationed at my villa. Inform me immediately if anything of note happens. You're dismissed.” He waved his hand again, sending Iago away like some kind of common servant, and the shame and anger made his stomach churn a little before once more settling down.

The trip back to his study from the throne room was a blur as he allowed his body to move on autopilot while his brain concerned itself with running through the potential scenarios. Garon had hardly given him enough information to go on, but even the vaguest idea would help him to prepare at least _somewhat_. It would help if he knew who the spy was, or what kind of trap Garon intended them to spring on the Hoshidans, but people didn't call him a genius for nothing. Improvisation might not have been his preferred method, but he could certainly work with it..

Iago's study was his safe space; it was powerfully protected to keep anyone and everyone out and away from his delicate work and collection of powerful tomes, important documents, and items of personal interest. When Garon told him it was his responsibility to monitor the situation, he of course had no illusions that Garon was asking him to do so in _person_. First of all it would have involved a lengthy journey that would have placed him in the palace long after the Hoshidans had most certainly left, or else very powerful magic that would have expended far too much energy. Second of all it would have been needlessly dangerous. He had long since perfected the magic that allowed him to protect his senses (and an image of himself, if necessary) to a distant location, which allowed him to monitor a situation as Garon had requested from a safe distance. Of course it required a certain amount of unbroken concentration, which could easily be supplied by the respite of his study.

He firmly bolted the heavy door behind him and paused to rub his temples. There was an unfortunate stress headache building up that he couldn't afford to pay much mind to. Assured that no one was going to bother him for the time being, he seated himself at his desk with a sigh, wondering once again why he had even allowed himself to get into such a mess in the first place.

 

* * *

 

“You can't believe how happy I am to see you here, Flora.”

Corrin felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, though she could tell her Hoshidan companions didn't feel quite the same way; Flora was just another Nohrian servant to them, after all. But seeing another Nohrian face not out to kill her was a great comfort, especially when they were on such a dire mission.

“And you can't believe how.. _surprised_ I am to see you here, my lady.” Flora stared at her quizzically as she led their group through the halls of Palace Macarath, politely ignoring the way her siblings and other Hoshidan allies kept their hands close to their weapons at all times. “But glad, as well. When Felicia and Jakob ran off to join you.. well, I was afraid I would never see any of you again.”

“Don't say that kind of thing, Flora!” Felicia practically bounced around her twin sister, reaching for her hand to give it a firm squeeze. “I'm sure once Corrin got all of this settled you and I could go back home and everything would be fine!”

“I'm not sure I share Felicia's rampant optimism, but I _am_ sure Lady Corrin would have gotten this mess sorted out sooner or later,” Jakob added, and the amount of faith her friends seemed to have in her made her heart swell up. “I must ask, though.. what are you doing here?”

“After Lady Corrin and the two of you disappeared, King Garon had me sent here.. presumably he worried I would also run off to join Hoshido.” Flora sighed. “I suppose I should just be glad that he didn't have me executed.”

“I take it you were also one of my sister's caretakers when she was in Nohr, then?” It was the first time her siblings had said anything since they'd run into Flora, and it didn't surprise her that it was Ryoma who spoke.

“..yes, your highness. Felicia and I both served as Lady Corrin's maids for many years.” There was something almost strained in Flora's voice, but Corrin could only chalk it up to nerves given the delicate situation they were in. Helping the royalty of Nohr's sworn enemy nation couldn't be easy for her. “But we can reminisce more once we've taken care of your brother.”

“Of course. I can't thank you enough for your help.”

“You're not putting yourself in danger by helping us, are you?” Corrin asked, only now considering the possibility. Of course, it wasn't as though they had much of a choice.. Takumi's life was on the line. But if they were putting Flora in danger perhaps it would have been better to leave her behind so she could at least pretend she hadn't been helping them..

“I'll be fine, Lady Corrin. Don't worry. When all of you infiltrated Nohr and attacked the king, the soldiers posted here were recalled, and many of the servants chose to flee so they could return to their families,” Flora explained as she continued to lead them through the almost labyrinthine halls of the pleasure palace. “Since I was put in charge, I allowed them to do so. It's not as though this palace is in use in the middle of a war effort, after all.. But I'm the only one here right now. So Garon shouldn't have any reason to find out about this.”

“Not so fast.”

Everyone quickly turned on the unfamiliar voice with weapons drawn— everyone except for Corrin. Because to Corrin the voice wasn't unfamiliar at all. It was painfully, _horribly_ familiar and it made the bottom of her stomach fall out. They all turned to its source and she watched as Felicia, Flora, and Jakob all took on panicked expressions and her Hoshidan army steeled themselves for combat.

“Iago.”

 

* * *

 

Though he'd always seen the Palace Macarath as a frivolous waste of the king's time and money, Iago still knew the place quite well. He considered it an important part of his job to familiarize himself with his liege's surroundings in the case of any kind of violent threat against his life— like precisely what was happening now. It was important to know your surroundings in order to get the best possible advantage against the enemy.

He knew Macarath well enough that projecting his senses there was a simple task. The palace was as lavish as one would expect from a pleasure palace, but his concern wasn't with admiring the scenery. His _first_ concern was with _finding_ the planted spy in the first place, seeing as Garon hadn't told him who he was looking for; the second was ensuring that spy was unable to carry out their given task. The thought almost pained him; so far he'd been able to pursue his agenda without directly disobeying a command from Garon, though he had certainly needed to interpret orders rather loosely to accomplish it. But he was in far too deep now; discovery of his actions up to that point would no doubt result in being executed for treason.

It didn't surprise him to see that the halls of Macarath were empty; no need to risk the average servant or soldier, who was dull as a stump, exposing the spy at a crucial moment. It _did_ surprise him to see Corrin's group of Hoshidan royals and other associates being led by Flora, Corrin's long time maid and the daughter of the rebellious Ice Tribe chieftain.

Corrin. He hadn't seen her since her siblings had brought her to Castle Krakenburg before everything had well and truly started. She seemed happy to see her former servant, as did her two other servants who had fled to join her, but he knew it was bound to be a short-lived happiness.

This was unfortunate. He'd been hoping he would have more time to plan for how to deal with the spy, but since the Hoshidans had already arrived in Macarath it seemed as though those hopes were doomed to remain unrealized. It meant that more drastic measures would have to be taken— drastic and dangerous measures.

Projecting his senses was a difficult enough process, but this called for something even more than that. Pulling together as much concentration as he could manage, he focused on projecting an image of himself into the palace, a sort of 'magical golem' that he could control as easily as he could his own body.

“..So Garon shouldn't have any reason to find out about this.”

“Not so fast.”

The Hoshidans and Corrin's other assorted accomplices all turned towards him, but his focus was only on Flora. He couldn't afford for it to wander anywhere else. The look of surprise on her face was genuine enough, but the fear was delayed as she took a moment to realize that as far as Corrin and the others were concerned she was _supposed_ to be afraid of him. It was hardly convincing to _him_ , but he was sure the dull-minded opposition would take no notice of it. It was no wonder that they were so easily infiltrated by a spy..

“Iago.”

Corrin's voice was hard to ignore, but he did so anyway, giving Flora his best unaffected stare.

“Did you really believe you could assist the enemies of the kingdom and get away with it? Poor, naive Flora..” He poured as much condescension into his voice as he could manage. He saw the confusion overtake Flora's expression.

“I-Iago.. what are you—” She might have been her own undoing there, outing herself as a spy to the Hoshidans without him having to so much as lift a finger, but unfortunately she was smarter than that. She caught herself at the last minute and simply assumed the same defensive stance that the others had taken. Well, that made his job harder.. but not by much.

“As you well know, the sentence for treason against the crown of Nohr is death.” His projections, while not as powerful as the real thing, could accomplish a great deal. Like the original they were more than capable of performing powerful feats of magic; magic was, after all, primarily a forceful projection of the caster's will. With his tome in hand in the comfort of his study, Iago summoned up the very explosive power deep in the planet's core and focused it on Flora.

 

* * *

 

“Iago.”

Corrin felt a tingle run up her spine and something nauseating roll in the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling she had felt when she had encountered her Nohrian siblings; the feeling that made her second guess herself somewhere deep in her mind, although she held strongly to her convictions.

She didn't know whether she was grateful or hurt when he ignored her completely. “Did you really believe you could assist the enemies of the kingdom and get away with it? Poor, naive Flora..” All of his attention was instead focused on Flora; he didn't even acknowledge the Hoshidan royals in his midst. It was classic Iago arrogance, really.

“I-Iago.. what are you—” Flora, though, sounded flabbergasted by it. Corrin was a bit surprised herself. How had he known where they were going to be? They hadn't exactly been taking a straightforward, predictable path up to that point. Not only because that was the safer path, but because she'd been hoping that avoiding the bulk of the Nohrian army would help her to avoid her family or any of her other Nohrian associates.

Still— she couldn't afford to let Iago halt her progress, or hurt Flora. She reached for her Yato blade, but her shock made her slow. She hadn't yet drawn the blade, but already Iago was drawing the power from his tome. There was no way she was going to be able to block it in time—

“Flora!” Felicia tackled her sister out of the way just in time for most of the floor to disappear where Flora had been standing just a moment previous. The explosion had sent dust and debris scattering everywhere, temporarily blinding most of them, and the sound of it left her ears ringing even as she drew her sacred blade those few moments too late. She could hear and sense her siblings readying their own weapons— even Sakura with the bow she had just started learning how to use, ready to fight to save Takumi at all costs.

Corrin rushed through the dust, sword drawn and ready to— well, she wasn't sure what she was going to do. She knew she should be attacking, but she wasn't sure whether she could bring herself to do that. Her siblings were still a little disoriented, but she was used to Iago's magics.

She had her sword raised to swing it as soon as she passed the cloud of dust, but when she saw him she froze. Not because of who he was— she had already acclimated to his sudden appearance, or had at least numbed herself to it. No, it was the fact that he was looking _right at her_ , like he had expected her to come charging out of the debris with weapon drawn. He wasn't looking at her with the harsh, unyielding stare tinged with contempt that she expected to see on his face when facing down an enemy. Instead, he simply looked concerned.. and tired.

She halted her swing, and very nearly dropped her sword. Corrin felt like a child being caught misbehaving all over again. It felt like an eternity passed between them, though it couldn't have been longer than a second or two as the dust settled and her siblings regained their senses.

“Halt, fiend!” Corrin felt the crackle of Ryoma's Raijinto and heard the roar of his voice just before he came bursting through the smokescreen. Iago must have been alerted as well, because he scowled and gave a small wave of the hand, disappearing with a bright flash and an orbit of strange magical symbols.

“Wh-where did he go?” Sakura was the next to follow through the dust, coughing lightly into her sleeve, following swiftly by Hinoka with her naginata at the ready.

“..he likely wasn't even here in the first place,” Corrin replied, sheathing her blade and pausing to take a deep breath. She only just now realized that she hadn't taken a breath at all when she and Iago had been staring at each other. “That was probably just an illusion, being projected from somewhere safely far away.”

“Who _was_ that?” Hinoka asked. Judging by the way she was still holding her weapon, she didn't quite believe that the danger was past.

“That was Iago,” Flora replied as she and Felicia rose from the floor, dusting her pink haired twin off. The near death experience apparently hadn't hindered her drive for cleanliness. “King Garon's right hand, his master tactician, _and_ the official court sorcerer. If he knows we're here, that means it won't be long before King Garon knows and sends troops after us.”

“Then we must hurry. Please, lead us to the infirmary as quickly as possible.” Ryoma sheathed the Raijinto once more, but the way he left his hand resting on the hilt of the blade betrayed an understandable tenseness. Being attacked by the enemy so directly was unsettling, to say the least.

To emulate that kind of stress, Corrin imitated him and kept her slightly shaking hand on the hilt of her sword while her brain worked overtime trying to process what she had seen— and what it might possibly mean.

 

* * *

 

Iago had always prided himself on his loyalty, and by extension his ability to follow through on anything his liege asked of him. Oh, of course he didn't just blindly run off and follow any orders he was given without a second thought, but then generally Garon didn't much care _how_ he accomplished his given tasks so long as they were accomplished.

As he sat in his study staring blindly at a fixed point in space, he contemplated the fact that this was the first time in his life he could remember directly contradicting Garon's orders. He had skirted certain commands to follow the overall _spirit_ of his orders more efficiently, but he had never outright defied Garon's will before.

But then— he had never needed to. Garon's will had been his will. He had never had a reason to go against his commands, as he had no desire to further any personal agendas that might conflict with Garon's. Politics bored him to tears, he had enough wealth to maintain his studies and live comfortably, and as Garon's right hand he had all the power he could ever need. What kind of contradictory personal agenda could he ever hold?

He felt like the encounter with the Hoshidans had aged him a good ten years as he rose from his chair and glided towards the door, pausing only to toss another log onto the fire which had burned down while he was in his trance. His impromptu, unplanned attempt to salvage his plan as best he could had failed; he wasn't particularly surprised by that. But before he could have a chance to better plan a _real_ solution, he would have to come up with some kind of false report to give Garon about the situation.

After all, with dear Flora preoccupied with her Hoshidan guests— who would there be to contradict him? And who would ever suspect Garon's most loyal adviser of such things?

It didn't bode well that Garon had elected not to give him all of the information in regards to this spy, though. He let such thoughts preoccupy him as he left his study, being careful to lock up behind himself so no curious idiot could pose a threat to his collection or delicate work. Had he given Garon any reason not to trust him? So far as he knew, he'd given absolutely no indication that anything was amiss, and deceit was practically second nature. No, more likely he had been displeased with his recent performance. After all, while they were performing more than adequately on the main war front, and were in fact besting the Hoshidans at every turn while they could only try and hold them back from taking the capital, under his direction the Hoshidan royalty and the traitorous Corrin had been permitted to sneak into Nohr with hardly any sort of resistance. They had even nearly managed to assassinate Garon, much to his annoyance. He certainly hadn't envisioned them so bold.. though with Corrin at the helm, he might have been able to guess as much. She had always been bold to the point of foolishness.

These days he rarely approached Garon's throne room without being summoned, as his volatile temper meant his reception was nearly impossible to predict. If the king was informed he was wandering the castle rather than being in his study, however, he would at best be suspicious, and at worst be furious that Iago was going against his direct orders. Better to nip that particular issue in the bud as quickly as possible. Potential lies were already queuing up in his mind, ready for him to select the best one to present to the king.

As he approached the throne room, he caught sight of another uninvited guest— the young princess Elise, milling about the throne room doors and wearing down the carpet with her pacing. She was mumbling to herself as though practicing some kind of speech, and didn't notice his approach.

“A _hem_.” He cleared his throat loudly, injecting his best disapproving tone into it. Elise jumped, her hair standing on end. “It's not exactly polite to skulk about outside of your father's throne room, your highness. Don't you have something better to be doing?”

“I-Iago!” He tried not to roll his eyes at the pout she was giving him. It was often hard to remember that she was a teenager when she constantly insisted on acting as though she was five years old. “I'm not skulking! Who's skulking? I live here, you know! If anyone is skulking, it's you!”

“Lying isn't becoming of a princess, your highness. And I have important business to discuss with your father. If _you_ don't, you'd best run along.” Though he could tell easily enough from the way she had been pacing with such a determined and frustrated look on her face that she had _something_ on her mind.

“Iago, what's going to happen to Corrin?” The young princess stood up straight and looked him directly in the eye with the sort of expression that told him she wasn't going to leave him alone unless she got an answer. “Father isn't really going to hurt her, is he?”

“The sentence for high treason against the Nohrian crown is death, your highness. A wise ruler such as your father knows better than to make an exception even for a member of the royal family.” The words came out smoothly and without hesitation, but Princess Elise acted much as he expected her to. Her face grew red out of frustration, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she tried to force herself not to cry.

“How can you say that? Corrin always talked about how great you were at magic, and how smart you were, and she would stick up for you even when you were being a big jerk!” Now she was glowering at him, arms crossed across her chest. “She always really, really liked you, and you're just going to let her get killed?”

“It's hardly up to me, princess. That's something to take up with your father.”

“I plan on it!”

Elise stomped off like a child and Iago was thankful that he wouldn't have to face Garon after the king had already been irritated by his bratty child. Camilla had fallen into a depression, Elise was growing restless, and who could even tell what was going through the minds of the princes?

Action would have to be taken, and soon. Before someone did something incredibly stupid.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another long delay, which I apologize for. As you can see, I made up for it by making this chapter a FREAKIN' MONSTER. Again, plot things tend to be more slow going from me than abstract fluff or angst pieces, so the rest of this fic is probably going to be very slow coming compared to the first couple of chapters.


	6. a long hard road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pain of uncertainty cuts deeper than any knife. Corrin contemplates the latest confusions that have arisen in her life.

  _It was a warm day. Warm, and filled with sun. She lay on the floor in a colourful room in a castle made of paper and drew pictures with thick, sticky paints from little clay pots, using her fingers instead of a brush._

_The sliding of a paper door in her paper castle made her look up from her latest masterpiece, and she smiled. Pushing herself to chubby feet, she grabbed one of the paintings that had already dried in that warm sun and toddled over to the newcomer._

_Delicate hands reached out to carefully take the picture from her, and a comforting voice cooed, “Did you draw this for me? It’s beautiful, Corrin.”_

_Those same hands put her picture aside and picked her up. A half-remembered woman with a kind face and a soothing voice brushed her hair back out of her face as she rested her in the crook of her arm, then murmured something to herself about how it was getting unruly and would need to be dealt with soon._

_“Don’t tell me you’ve been in here all morning.” A fingernail tapped her on the very end of her nose and she giggled. “Why don’t we go take a walk in the garden? It’s such a beautiful day…”_

_The woman started humming as she carried her into the hall, Corrin resting her head against her shoulder, the tune of what was not quite a lullaby but was the same kind of comforting. The tune became bleary as her little eyes started to slide shut…_

* * *

 

“Corrin? Corrin, wake up.”

 She was startled awake by the hand gently shaking her shoulder. She immediately wanted to reach for her sword, but suppressed the urge.

 Hinoka stood over her, strong hand resting heavily on her shoulder. She felt grounded by the gesture, especially considering the fact that she had been feeling like she was floating since the... _encounter_.

 “Go to the caravan, get some sleep. I can keep an eye on him. Ryoma will probably want to move out soon anyway.”

 Corrin looked over at Takumi, who was sleeping much more peacefully than expected in the bed Flora had told them to lay him in. With the herbs and medicines Flora had given them combined with Sakura’s expertise, Takumi’s fever was already down and he seemed like he would recover enough that they could stop watching him in a matter of hours. He was miraculously stable.

 “Thanks, Hinoka.” She reached up and squeezed her older sister’s hand, leaning in her direction. She wanted to tell her about the dream she’d had about Mikoto—if, in fact, that was who the dream had been about. It was already slipping through her fingers as she sat there, blinking bleariness out of her eyes. But since she had no idea if it was a returned memory or just something her mind had invented that seemed likely, she didn’t see the point. Maybe someday she would remember what her childhood in Hoshido had been like…

 The thought had crossed her mind more than once that maybe her memories had been tampered with. As a student of magic she knew that it would be incredibly difficult, but not impossible. It would just take a very powerful mage.

 “Corrin. Go sleep. You’re nodding off again.” Hinoka gave her shoulder another shake and Corrin jumped slightly in her chair. Obviously she was more tired than she thought. She nodded slightly as she got to her feet, using primarily force of will not to stumble. Hinoka chuckled as she gave her a pat on the back and a little nudge in the direction of the door.

 The pleasure palace was unfamiliar to Corrin given the fact that she had never been outside of the Northern Fortress, and quickly she became disoriented—which certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that she was still too tired to really be thinking clearly. She walked around in what was most likely circles before she came to a long, narrow hallway.

 Judging by each room she poked her head into, they were all bedrooms, probably the servants’ quarters. She remembered that Flora had said something about letting all of the other servants leave to be with their families, or to avoid getting caught up in the war. Clearly many of them had left quite some time ago, or else there hadn’t been too many of them; many of the bedrooms were perfectly neat and orderly, aside from being covered in a fine layer of dust. For a second that surprised her until she, with some embarrassment, realized that Flora probably wasn’t much interested in cleaning the abandoned servants’ quarters in the middle of a war.

 Only one room in the hall had light coming from it, meaning someone had lit a candle in the palace gloom. It must have been Flora’s room. The short walk had helped Corrin to shake the sleepiness and she approached, stifling a yawn behind the back of her hand. Ever since the attack she’d been wanting to talk to her alone, to see if she knew anything that Corrin didn’t. She’d been having… _trouble_ putting together the pieces of the puzzle. But Takumi had of course been more important and after the rush to treat him had subsided, Flora had all but vanished, and Corrin had been swept up in watching over Takumi to make sure Sakura’s cure had worked.

 “Flora?” Corrin knocked on the door as she called out quietly, listening to see if she could hear her moving around. She didn’t want to disturb her if she was taking a short rest before they left. Considering she had nearly been blown up and then had simply dusted herself off to help them find the herbs they needed, she more than deserved the break. But Felicia had been buzzing around Flora almost constantly after she’d been attacked. Corrin hadn’t had a chance to speak to her alone.

 After a few moments with no answer and hearing no movement inside the room, she dared to crack the door open just to peek inside. She was sure Flora wouldn’t mind her just peeking inside while she was sleeping, considering all the times she had woken her up. She was surprised to see no one inside the room, at least not that she could see right away; no one asleep in the bed, no one moving around to get ready for their departure.

 “Flora?” She stepped further into the room. Flora wouldn’t have left her room with the candles lit when she should have been packing. Had she changed her mind about coming with them? No; that couldn’t be it. She wasn’t likely to want to stay in the palace when she knew Garon would want her head on a platter the moment he found her.

 The room was sparse considering how long she assumed Flora had been living there. In fact, the only thing that showed anyone had been in there at all (aside from the lack of dust that had settled everywhere else and the lit candles) was what looked like a stack of letters sitting on the dresser. A stack of letters that, from afar, looked like they had the Nohrian royal crest on them—

 “Lady Corrin?”

 “Eep!” She squeaked and jumped at the same time; how completely undignified! “Flora, there you are! I was looking for you.” She laughed uncertainly. “Actually, I got turned around in the palace and just sort of ended up here. But I thought you’d be able to point the way to the exit. Hinoka said Ryoma would probably like to leave soon, so—”

 “Of course, Lady Corrin.” She was nearly as startled by the chilly tone of Flora’s voice—no pun intended—as she was by the way Flora had seemed to suddenly appear in the doorway. Her furrowed brow and otherwise unpleasant expression betrayed the fact that she was clearly annoyed, even if she was trying—arguably—not to show it. “It’s not polite to go snooping in other people’s rooms, milady.”

 “Oh—oh!” Corrin immediately flushed a bright red. “Oh, Flora, I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean—I just wanted to see if you were in here, I swear. I wasn’t trying to snoop.”

 “It’s alright, Lady Corrin.” Flora sighed in that way that she always did, especially when Felicia messed up in her usual way. “Come, I’ll bring you to your caravan. We don’t want to keep your family waiting, right?”

 “Ah—thank you, Flora.” Corrin couldn’t control the yawn that wanted to escape her, so she didn’t try. It wasn’t as though she felt the need to stand on ceremony with Flora anyway. “You’re coming with us, right? Isn’t there anything you want to grab?”

 Flora looked around the room. Corrin couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes lingered on the pile of letters for just a moment longer than the rest, but before long Flora was looking away and shaking her head.

 “No. Frankly, I’m _more_ than ready to get out of here. Things in Nohr haven’t been easy since you left…”

 “I’m awfully sorry about that, Flora.” She winced openly. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t thought about what leaving Nohr would have meant for the people she cared about; she’d thought about it at nearly every free moment, in fact, especially since she’d had such close encounters with her Nohrian siblings. But every time it was pulled to the front of her mind it felt like a fresh wound all over again.

 Flora sighed. “It’s alright, Lady Corrin. I understand why you made the choice you did.” She narrowed her eyes; there was a spark of cold anger in them that Corrin couldn’t ever remember seeing. She’d always thought of Flora as one of the calmest and most collected people she knew. “King Garon is a truly despicable man.”

 “I only wish I had figured that out sooner. Maybe Queen Mikoto would still be alive, and there might be some way to end this war without more bloodshed…” Corrin yawned again and swayed on her feet. She knew she was tired, but she hadn’t realized until now just _how_ tired she was. Though with everything that was happening, it wasn’t exactly surprising.

 “Come on, Lady Corrin. Instead of standing around talking about things like that, let’s get going.” Flora smiled at her and reached out to take her arm. Corrin let her. Flora blew out the candles on the way out and locked the door behind her.

 Even just based on her pace, Corrin could tell she was eager to get out of the palace. She couldn’t exactly blame her. She was sure the memories of the place were weighing heavily on her.

* * *

 

 The caravan went over a series of rocks, jolting Corrin awake. The shock of it nearly made her bump her head against the floor. Fortunately, none of the other soldiers who were sleeping in the caravan seemed to get jolted in the same way.

 She poked her head out the back and caught the attention of Sakura, who was walking alongside the caravan.

 “Do you want to take a turn in here? I’m feeling a lot better.”

 “A-are you sure, Corrin? You seemed really tired…”

 “Yeah, I’m sure.” Corrin hung her legs over the side of the rolling caravan, extending a hand towards Sakura so she could help her up into the caravan. Sakura jogged lightly to catch up and grabbed Corrin’s wrist, letting her sister half lift her into the caravan. “Besides, you were working twice as hard, since you and Flora were busy trying to keep Takumi _alive_.”

 “Oh, it really wasn’t anything that impressive…” Even in the half-light of the evening, Corrin could see Sakura blushing. “Flora was a big help, honestly. I don’t know what we would have done if she wasn’t there… I don’t even want to _think_ about it…”

 “Well, you don’t have to worry about it now. Takumi is doing just fine. You said it yourself; he should be just fine by morning. Thanks to your hard work, of course.” Corrin put her arm around Sakura’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze, which only made her blush harder.

 “W-well…it was really generous of Felicia and Flora to invite us to stay in their village while we recovered. It would be nice to finally have a chance to rest and relax for a little while…”

 Corrin nodded, though her mind was drifting even as Sakura spoke. She didn’t mean to ignore her sister, of course, but she couldn’t help it. Her mind had been elsewhere ever since they had arrived in Macarath. Something still wasn’t quite sitting right with her, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. All of the pieces weren’t quite fitting together yet…

 “Corrin? Is… is something wrong?” She snapped out of her reverie when she realized Sakura had stopped talking and was now simply watching her bashfully out of the corner of her eye, as if she was afraid something she had said had made Corrin lose interest in her. Corrin immediately turned her attention back to her and shook her head.

 “No, not really. It’s just been… a very hard day.” She chuckled, although she didn’t really sound that amused, just emotionally tired. “I’ll definitely be glad for that chance to rest, but really, I think it’s more important to take this chance to regroup. Garon clearly knows we’re on our way, and I still want to be able to catch him by surprise, or else there’s going to be a very nasty battle…”

 Sakura let out a little shudder at that, and Corrin gave her another squeeze. She wished she could spare Sakura all of the horrors of the war, but since she couldn’t do that, the least she could do was get it over with as quickly as possible so they could all return home.

 Home… it was still hard to think of Hoshido as ‘home’, even if she had grown attached to her Hoshidan siblings in a way she could never have imagined in such a short period of time. To her, the northern fortress was still home, even if it was cold and isolated. She still had so many good memories of it…

 "You get comfortable, Sakura.” She gave Sakura a pat on the shoulder as she carefully jumped down off of the caravan. Even considering how slowly it was moving, it was harder than it looked. “I’m going to go have a chat with Ryoma. Get some rest; Takumi’s going to need you to get him back to top form once he’s awake again.”

 “O-of course.” Corrin watched Sakura try and fail to stifle a yawn, and couldn’t help but smile.

 She walked around the caravan and followed to the procession to the front of the group, where Ryoma was leading the group. She had no doubt that Saizo and Kagero were nearby, likely scouting ahead to ensure the route was safe. Corrin jogged lightly to catch up with the long strides and quick pace he was keeping.

 “Ryoma, how are things looking up here? Are we going to get to the Ice Tribe village before Garon’s forces catch up to us?”

 “I’m honestly not sure, Corrin. What do you think?” Ryoma turned his head in her direction even as the two of them continued walking. “You would know better than I do.”

 Corrin’s mind froze so completely that she didn’t even realize she had stopped walking until Ryoma grabbed her by the arm to keep her from getting run over by the cart or trampled by the rest of the procession.

 “Wh—what do you mean by that?”

 Ryoma looked at her oddly, and it almost amused her that she had managed to catch _Ryoma_ of all people off guard. But she was simply too surprised to feel much of anything else.

 “Well, for one, you came from Nohr. I know you weren’t very involved with politics, but you likely still know more than most everyone from Hoshido,” Ryoma replied. “You also seemed to know the Nohrian tactician. Is there anything you know about him that might be able to help us?”

 Corrin felt something cold in the pit of her stomach, something she couldn’t quite place. She thought so hard that you could practically see the gears turning in her head if you focused hard enough.

 “Not a lot,” she replied, glad that she didn’t have to lie to her older brother. Honestly, most of the things she knew about Iago wouldn’t be helpful to the war effort. “He’s been Garon’s tactician and key adviser as long as I can remember. He’s a powerful sorcerer, as you saw. And he’s incredibly smart, but also arrogant about it.”

 “Hm. I see.” Ryoma nodded, and now it was his turn to think long and hard. Corrin stifled a sigh of relief. She had been sure that she’d somehow let on more about Iago than she was willing to talk about. “I’ll take that into consideration. We might be able to use that arrogance against him. Please, if you think of anything else, tell me as soon as you can.”

 “Of course, Ryoma.” Feeling like she’d dodged a particularly nasty arrow, Corrin let herself fall out of step with Ryoma and joined the bulk of the caravan in the walk. Surely he would be preoccupied thinking about what she’d told him.

 She found herself walking alongside Flora, though Flora didn’t seem to notice her at first. She was simply staring at the ground as she walked, lost in her own thoughts. It seemed like that was happening for quite a lot of people.

“Flora?” She gently reached out to touch her former maid’s shoulder, and Flora all but jumped. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”

 “Oh! Lady Corrin! It’s alright. I just didn’t expect you to be there.” She sighed, and seemed to take a minute to center herself. When she was finished, she was standing up straight and had a composed look on her face, making her look extremely formal. “Was there something that you needed?”

 “No… I just saw you walking here and thought I’d walk with you. We are headed to your home town, after all, and Felicia did say you two always wanted me to see it.” She gave Flora her best smile, hoping that it would help the both of them to feel a little more focused and cheery. After all, they had hopefully put the worst behind them. “You both always used to talk about it so much, I’m pretty excited to see it. Although I wish it was under better circumstances.”

 “Yes… but we just have to accept our situation. There’s no changing the fact that we’re in the middle of a war, after all.” There was a chilliness to Flora’s voice that sent a shiver down Corrin’s spine. Something about Flora just… wasn’t right. Had the encounter with Iago shaken her more than she was letting on?

  _Well…_ thought Corrin, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other just as Flora had been. _She isn’t the only one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took forever and didn't even end up being all that interesting. There was supposed to be a major event at the end of the chapter, but it just got too fricken' *long*, so I split it into two chapters. Hopefully as a result chapter 7 won't take as many eons to come out as 6 did. Consider this something of a filler chapter.


	7. in what name do we trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is always something lingering beneath the surface. Corrin finds something amiss about their situation, and Iago fears his entire world is going to unravel around him.

_Corrin dropped her workbook on Iago’s desk, leaning over it as she watched him fill out what seemed to be a never ending pile of paperwork. She continued to stand there and watch him until he finally looked up at her with a sigh._

_"You’re done, then?” he asked as he picked up the workbook from the pile she had dropped it on top of. He opened it up and leafed through it. At first he simply looked bored—not that uncommon for Iago, really—but as he continued to do so, it seemed to draw his attention more and more. “Hm. Well, you’ve actually succeeded in surprising me. I know I didn’t teach you most of this.”_

_“Well, I’ve got a lot of time on my hands, and a pretty big library,” Corrin said with a shrug. “I’ve been practicing with that tome you gave me, too. So I’ve figured a few things out on my own.”_

_“Well, you’re not the lost cause I thought you were.” He tossed her workbook back into the pile she had first put it in. “Maybe one day you’ll make a half-decent sorcerer. Was that all?”_

_“Well…” She stood at the desk, tapping her foot lightly against it, not looking at all like she was planning on moving._

_“Now you’re just wasting your own time as well as mine,” Iago sighed, fixing her with a hard look. “If you have to ask which is more valuable, perhaps you’re not as impressive as I thought.”_

_Corrin couldn’t help it; she brightened up a bit and couldn’t help but grin. “You think I’m impressive?”_

_“_ What _do you_ want _, Corrin?” Well, maybe she was pushing her luck just a bit_ too _much. She breathed in deeply to steel herself for the question she knew she wanted to ask, but wasn’t sure she wanted to have answered._

_“Iago… do you know why Father keeps me here in the fortress? Why I’m not allowed to live with my brothers and sisters?” She folded her hands together and couldn’t keep her eyes on Iago’s. She was completely expecting to be told that questioning her father was analogous to treason and she should simply be content with her lot in life. Iago_ was _Garon’s right hand first and foremost, after all; she knew teaching her had always been secondary, or perhaps not even that important._

_When the question simply hung in the air unanswered, Corrin finally looked back up at Iago, even more afraid to meet his gaze than before. What she saw there, however, was certainly not anger; it wasn’t even the calm exasperation that she was used to from Iago. There was something strangely…_ tender _in his expression._

_If she didn’t know better, she would almost say he looked sad._

_There was a long moment where the two simply held each others’ gaze, Corrin’s confusion building every moment, until finally Iago broke the stare and returned his attention to his paperwork—not very convincingly at that._

_“Sometimes King Garon’s motives are a mystery even to me, your highness. But that’s the sort of question that is likely to get you in trouble. I would advise you not to repeat it to anyone you wouldn’t trust with your life.” His eyes never lifted from his papers and he waved her off casually, though there was a certain nervous stiffness to his movements that made it obvious that it was an act._

_Corrin had left; she hadn’t known what else she could do. Or how important that very same question would turn out to be._

 

* * *

 

 Corrin sat up suddenly. It felt like a jolt of electricity had gone through her body and it took her a minute to be able to breathe again. She hadn’t even meant to fall asleep; she had done more than enough of that on the caravan, and yet everything still felt heavy. The exhaustion was a palpable thing, like a weight sitting at the bottom of her stomach.

So many odd dreams… so many memories that weren’t doing anything other than sitting and festering in her brain, doing nothing but making her feel even worse. Corrin knew that eventually she wouldn’t be able to just push them aside and not worry about them anymore, but for the moment she wasn’t sure what else to do. She couldn’t afford to worry about such things while she still had a war to win.

Still—there was just something _about_ that dream that bothered her. She got to her feet and looked around. They had returned the wagons to the Astral Plane when the terrain had gotten too rough for the horses to carry them any further; when it had gotten dark, they had found a cave to settle down in to make camp for the night. The fire they had made to keep themselves warm crackled in the middle of the cave, the smoke being carried through openings in the roof. It would be a dead giveaway for anyone who was looking for them, but with any luck Garon’s forces wouldn’t know they had detoured to go to the Ice Tribe Village and would assume that they were continuing on towards the capital.

Luck… it seemed like good luck had been following them since they had started out. It felt like it was too good to be true. Most of it could be chalked up to coincidence, or the fact that the war had started so quickly that neither side could really organize itself properly, but the encounter at Macarath seemed almost _too_ miraculous. They had run into Flora all alone with no other Nohrian soldiers around, and when Iago had shown up he fled so quickly that he didn’t even have time to do any actual damage in spite of the fact that he was merely projecting himself—a loss would have at worst given him a nasty headache and a desperate need for a nap. She was grateful, but… it simply didn’t add up.

It was cold when she stepped out of the cave, but at least the weather was clear, and not a cloud in the sky. Without any wind blowing or snow falling, she could very clearly see the footprints around the entrance to the cave, though Saizo and Kagero had been careful to clear their footprints behind them so they couldn’t be followed. A new set of footprints led away from the cave and off into the distance. Someone else had apparently woken up with the same idea as her. With no other idea of where to go and not wanting to wander too far and get lost, she decided to follow.

Her dream was still bothering her. What was it about _that_ particular memory that had brought it up now? It couldn’t have just been seeing Iago again for the first time; no, it had to be the look on his face. It was practically the same expression she’d seen him wearing in Macarath. That sad, almost exhausted look…

He’d given her that look when she’d asked about why she had to stay in the fortress. Knowing what she did now, he clearly must have known something she didn’t. Obviously he would have known that she wasn’t really Garon’s daughter. He’d been his right hand for as long as she had been around, so no doubt he’d _been_ there when Garon had brought her back, if not there when she had been taken in the first place. He’d known that the real reason she couldn’t leave the fortress was because she was a hostage, not a real member of the family.

By that time, they’d had a… relationship, of sorts. He had been teaching her for a while, making frequent visits to the fortress to keep an eye on her. That look in his eyes simply wasn’t like him. She’d seen him lose control maybe once; he kept a tight lid on his emotions, other than contempt and condescension, which were pretty much always there. So what had been on his face that day? Remorse, maybe? Guilt, for having to lie to her? Why had he chosen that moment to let his mask slip, or had it just been too powerful for him to be able to control like everything else?

The footprints were leading her farther away from their temporary camp than she’d been hoping, but she kept following anyway. Who else besides her would be out in weather like this? Maybe it was Flora or Felicia—they’d always liked the cold, obviously.

Flora—it seemed like all of her strange dreams had started when Flora had shown up. That was when she’d gotten that… _look_ from Iago, too. She highly doubted he felt remorseful about trying to blast her into smithereens. Iago had always been terribly practical like that. If Garon had ordered him to do something, he wouldn’t feel at all split like that.

_…maybe it_ wasn’t _an order from Garon._ Iago could have been taking the initiative to keep an eye on the palace on his own, but why _wouldn’t_ Garon want guards and eyes all over the place if Iago had known they would be showing up? It didn’t add up. One way or another, she was missing something.

She clambered over a slick, icy rock, following the footsteps. Without the harsh wind she’d expected, the cold wasn’t that bad, but she could feel her bare skin starting to sting; thankfully she’d managed to snag a pair of shoes, or else she was certain she would have lost at least a couple of toes. She paused to rub her cheeks with her hands, although it didn’t achieve as much as she was hoping it would have.

When she looked up, she caught sight of a figure in the distance—the person whose footprints she’d been following, no doubt. One of her cold hands lingered over her sword hilt. She was almost certain it was one of her own soldiers, of course, but you couldn’t be too careful. When her vision started to clear, she could see the familiar black uniform and blue hair against the black-and-white of the night sky and snowdrifts.

She almost called out to her, before a sudden cold wind snatched her voice away; wandering out into the snow in the middle of the night was probably not the best of ideas, even if the weather had calmed down a great deal. They were still on top of a snowy mountain in enemy territory, after all.

Something screeched loudly and Corrin dived to the ground, just by instinct. The sound of heavy wing beats followed soon after, leaving her feeling a bit silly as what looked like a massive eagle swooped overhead. She watched it land expertly on Flora’s arm, though she wasn’t wearing the protective glove Corrin had seen falconers wear; those massive claws were probably going to ruin her outfit, not to mention hurt.

Attached to the eagle’s leg was an envelope, which Flora carefully untied. She unfolded the letter and was busy reading it as Corrin got to her feet (no need to stay lying face down in the snow) and approached.

“Flora?” The eagle flapped its wings almost violently as she approached, startling Flora. “Are you okay?”

“L-lady Corrin.” Flora shook her head, then lifted her hand to try and soothe the messenger bird. “I wish you wouldn’t keep sneaking up on me like that… but I’m alright, thank you. Shouldn’t you be asleep? We have a long day ahead of us…”

“I slept a lot already,” she said, shrugging. “And I had a weird dream. I needed to take a walk and clear my head…”

She let her eyes wander, until finally they fell on the letter that Flora was holding onto almost desperately so it wouldn’t be carried away by the wind or by the agitated bird. Funny, that wax seal looked awfully familiar… she had seen the same one on the letters in Flora’s room back at the palace, hadn’t she…?

She pulled her sword before she even had a chance to really think about it.

“L-lady Corrin! What are you doing?!” The eagle took that as its cue to fly off and Flora stared at her with wide eyes. She was surprised—but already on the defensive. Not nearly as surprised as she _should_ have been.

“Flora…” Corrin moved into a threatening stance. “Why are you getting a letter with Garon’s private seal?”

 

* * *

 

_“And what type of magic is effective against soldiers on flying mounts?”_

_“Wind. Of course.” She couldn’t help herself, tacking on that bit at the end. Did Iago think she was getting slow? He usually wasn’t the sort to pull punches during their lessons, and that was an awfully simple question…maybe if she started acting cocky, he would start taking her seriously._

_“Name the most common wind tomes.”_

_“Wind, Elwind, Arcwind—and Excalibur. That’s the one you use.” She was practically bouncing in her seat, not from excitement but from boredom—she was starting to get antsy._

_Even though Iago seemed to preoccupied with what he was reading to pay her much mind, he_ did _reach across the desk to give her a good swat in the forehead when he noticed she was doing that._

_“It’s_ one of _the tomes I use,” he corrected, settling back down in his seat. “And sit still. A princess doesn’t bounce around like some kind of manic animal.”_

_She could remember when Iago had been almost_ skittish _around her—like she was going to turn into some kind of monster ready to pounce at any moment. Certainly too skittish to hit her—even in a completely harmless way._

_“How would you know what a princess does? You’re not even royalty.” She was starting to get annoyed—if he wasn’t going to take their lesson seriously, at least he could let her read some of his books rather than making her sit there through a pointless quiz. At least that way she could actually_ learn _something._

_“At least I don’t get all of my ideas about how royalty act from romance novels,” he said in return, and she stuck her tongue out at him._

_He shuffled the stack of papers he’d been steadily working through as they sat there. The letter he plucked from the stack looked heavy, and was shut with an elaborate seal in bright purple wax._

_“What’s that?” She tilted her head quizzically at the envelope. Iago gave her a hard look._

_“It’s not polite to pry,” he said, although she didn’t think she was prying at all, just asking a simple question. But he didn’t give her a chance to complain about that. “It’s a letter from your father. Official, important business. Nothing for you to be concerned with.”_

_He tucked the letter away somewhere on his person, and though she didn’t ask, she wondered what the letter said. Gunter had told her more than once that she didn’t want to know what it was Iago did for her father—but she couldn’t help but be curious…_

 

* * *

 

“What are you talking about, milady?”

Flora had her arms folded formally in front of her, and her expression was one of steely indifference. Now that she was thinking about Iago (against her better judgement), she couldn’t help but think about how all of the servants had always looked at him with the same expression…

“Flora…”

“You must be mistaken. I only came out here to get a response from the tribe. I couldn’t exactly take you there without telling them. Now please, but your sword away.” Although she was still looking at her with that cold hard expression, there was—a wavering there that Corrin wasn’t sure she would have noticed before. Not when she wasn’t looking for it.

“Flora, please don’t lie to me. I know what my father’s private seal looks like.” Her blade didn’t waver, but it was a near thing. Obviously, she didn’t like holding a blade to one of her oldest friends… “And I know that he only puts that seal on the letters he sends to the people who report to him personally. You’re working for King Garon.”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lady Corrin. Perhaps you should go back to sleep.” Judging by the expression on Flora’s face, she knew _exactly_ what she was talking about, but wasn’t yet prepared to give up. There was fear there, and desperation, lingering behind the wall of indifference she was trying to keep up. “If I _were_ working for King Garon, why would Iago have attacked me at the palace?”

“To make sure we trusted you? It would make us a lot less suspicious of you if you were attacked for being a ‘traitor’,” Corrin suggested. “When Zola wanted to earn our trust, he made sure to get hurt on purpose for our sakes, so we would have no reason to believe he was against us. Iago didn’t _have_ to run away after one failed attack; he’s a stronger mage than that.”

Perhaps it might have been more convincing to someone who didn’t know Iago as well as she did. And there was something _more_ that was nagging her—the look Iago had given her, that remorseful look that told her he knew something she didn’t know, and didn’t exactly feel good about it. Of course, Flora would have no idea what she was talking about if she brought _that_ up…

“I… I suppose there’s nothing I can say, then.” Flora flinched like she’d been struck, folding her arms over her chest. “Perhaps… this is for the best. Please… just do it quickly.” She stepped forward so the tip of the Yato was pressed to her chest, and she seemed ashamed, but also somehow… _at peace_.

“Flora… I’m not going to just kill you, just like that.” She couldn’t put her weapon up, not when Flora and her ice magic could easily overpower her if she did; but at the same time she felt uncomfortable pointing it at her when it seemed like Flora planned on spearing herself if she didn’t do it for her.

“You would expose me as a traitor and then deny me the honor of a quick, clean death? I thought you were more merciful than that, milady.”

“Flora, what are you even _saying_?” She sounded like she _wanted_ to die—to die by her hands, here and now.

“Lady Corrin!” She wanted to demand Flora tell her exactly what was going on, what she meant by all of this—but her name being called across the snowy pass distracted her. Kaze came running up from behind, a throwing star in hand. “What’s going on? Are you in danger?”

“Kaze… please take Flora into custody. I caught her receiving personal communication from King Garon.” Now that Kaze was there, she felt comfortable putting up her weapon. She was thankful that Kaze didn’t waste any time with questions, just secured any weapons on Flora’s person and escorted her back to where the rest of the army was resting.

Gods… what was she going to tell Felicia? That was _not_ a conversation she was looking forward to having.

 

* * *

 

When Garon summoned him to the throne room, Iago assumed it was the end. He’d been left stewing in his own thoughts since the encounter at Macarath; surely that maid would report his treachery to the king at the first opportunity, and his entire operation would fold in on itself like a house of cards. He doubted Garon would even give him the benefit of a proper execution; he would likely just cut him down where he stood.

Still, he came when called. He couldn’t imagine doing otherwise, even with his neck on the line. When he arrived in the throne room, however, he wasn’t greeted with Garon’s rage—not directed at himself, at least.

“Iago.” Garon was alone this time; not even Hans, ever willing to hang around the throne room waiting to be dispatched on some bloody conquest or another, was there. There _was_ an eagle with a head covering to keep it docile, the huge bulky sort used to carry important messages into territory that was hostile because of the environment rather than the enemy.

“My liege. How may I serve you?” he asked, keeping his hands folded behind him to disguise the fact that they were shaking.

“I want you to repeat the report you gave me on the status of Corrin and her army at Macarath.”

Iago all but swallowed his tongue, though he disguised it well with a clearing of his throat. “Due to Prince Takumi’s illness, the ice tribe girl was able to gain their trust and infiltrate their ranks by offering to treat him from the medicinal stores. She left with them, and I ceased my observation.”

It was a lie, of course—he had cut off his observation almost as soon as Corrin had appeared on the scene. But it was simple enough to extrapolate the course of events, and lying was practically second nature to him. Lying to Garon was—new, but the same principles applied.

“My spy has not reported back.” He wasn’t even really looking at him, like Iago being there was completely superfluous. “And my other agents within the Ice Tribe village have not reported her arrival, though it was due several days ago.”

“Perhaps the Hoshidans have been delayed by the weather, or by the recovery of their prince,” Iago suggested as the ‘reasonable’ options. “Perhaps the ruse was discovered by the Hoshidans. Or… perhaps her loyalty to her people and to her liege is easily bought.”

“I see now that it was a mistake to leave this mission in her hands.” Garon’s voice was even and steady in a way Iago hadn’t heard in some time; it was almost uplifting. “Iago. I leave this once more in your hands. Destroy these seeds of dissent before they have a chance to take root. Now begone.”

“As you will, my liege.” Iago bowed as deeply as he could manage and all but scurried out of the throne room. His heart was beating _wildly_ in his chest, and he could barely breathe. He all but staggered as far as he could from the throne room before dropping onto a decorative settee, as far from any prying eyes as he could manage.

Iago put very little stock into religion, but if there was ever a time to thank the gods, he knew it was then.

 

* * *

 

“Wh-why did you do it, Flora?”

If there was a sound worse than Felicia’s hiccoughing voice as she stumbled her way through the accusations and the questions, Corrin couldn’t think of it. She stood huddled up just on the other side of the hallway, around a corner where she couldn’t be seen.

Flora, on the other hand, had been silent since they’d brought her to the cell. She’d also barely moved the entire time, and hadn’t even acknowledged Felicia when she had come in. Of course, Corrin had kept her distance—she couldn’t bring herself to look her in the eye, though she knew how cowardly that was of her.

“I expected so much better from you, Flora.” Though his words were biting, Corrin had known Jakob long enough to hear the waver and pain in his voice. No matter how much he tried to hide behind a prickly exterior around others, he was still—vulnerable, like the rest of them. And it was hard, first losing Gunter and now… _this_.

“Jakob, I believe my sister has made some calming tea in the mess hall. If you would please escort Felicia there…” And then there was Ryoma, taking charge and keeping things on track. Not being able to count on the village of the ice tribe as a refuge had set morale back a lot, after everything they’d already been through, but Ryoma was prepared to take on the challenge. At least Takumi was healing well; otherwise it might have been too much to recover from.

Corrin stayed pressed close to the wall as Jakob passed, his arm around the shoulders of a sobbing Felicia, guiding her out of the prison. Jakob nodded to her, but Felicia didn’t even seem to notice she was there, which suited her just fine. She could still see the look in her eyes when she and Kaze had escorted Flora back to camp with her hands bound; she was sure she was going to have nightmares about it, as if her dreams weren’t bad enough.

“…King Garon will kill my people when they realize you’ve captured me.”

It was the first thing Flora had said since being taken into their custody, and it made Corrin’s heart sink to hear.

"You dare to address Prince Ryoma—”

“At ease, Saizo. I’ll gladly hear whatever it is she has to say.” Ryoma took a stoic pause, and Corrin had to fight the urge to peer around the corner to see what was happening. “My sister anticipated as much. We’ve sent an envoy to the ice tribe to make sure they’re aware. Felicia has told me your people are strong warriors; with advanced warning, they should have time to prepare for whatever punishment Garon has in store.”

“If his people don’t intercept your messenger first.” Flora’s voice was flat and empty; Corrin couldn’t say that she felt any better for having heard her speaking. “I don’t believe I have anything else of interest to say, Prince Ryoma. I understand your cause, and I wish I had more to tell you, but I was just meant to be bait. And if it’s all the same to you, I would rather die alongside my people…”

“I’m afraid we can’t release you. But rest assured, we will do anything in our power to protect your tribe.”

Flora fell silent again, and Ryoma must have believed her when she said she had nothing else to say, because only moments later he came around the corner with Saizo following closely behind. Ryoma paused to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Saizo only had a wary, lingering stare for her before following his liege.

If she were smart, she would have followed them. But something had been eating away at her ever since that dream she’d had, just before her confrontation with Flora. There were pieces of the puzzle that just didn’t fit together, and which seemed more and more obvious the longer she thought about it. Once Saizo and Ryoma were gone, she steeled her nerves, slipped around the corner, and stopped in front of Flora’s cell.

Corrin expected her to glare at her, to see hate in her eyes, but it almost hurt worse not to see any of that—there was nothing in her eyes when she looked up at her. She couldn’t even look her straight in the face; it was like she wasn’t even there to begin with.

“At the palace,” she started, searching for the words even as she spoke. She couldn’t think of a better way to approach the question than by diving straight into it. “When Iago attacked. Did you know that was going to happen?”

Flora looked up at her, and a hint of confusion worked its way into her otherwise blank expression. “What do you mean, Lady Corrin?”

“At Macarath, you were surprised—shocked, even, when Iago showed up. And when I pointed it out on the mountain, you were genuinely surprised then, too.” She realized she was wringing her hands, and folded them behind her back so Flora couldn’t see her fidgeting. “Did you know Iago was going to attack you at the palace when you were with us?”

“Is this important?”

It sounded like a question that should have been snarky, but whether it was because Flora seemed so genuinely exhausted or for some other odd reason, it didn’t come across that way. Corrin found herself suddenly unable to look Flora in the eye.

“It is,” she replied, though she knew she was deliberately misinterpreting Flora’s meaning. She was practically lying.

“No, Lady Corrin. Garon never told me about any plan to prove my loyalty by attacking me, and I never spoke a word to Iago after you left the fortress.” Flora got to her feet, and Corrin could feel her eyes on her even as she persisted in looking anywhere _but_ at her face. “If Felicia hadn’t knocked me out of the way, that spell would have hit me. And you more than anyone should know what Iago is capable of.”

Her head snapped up at that, and she found when she did meet Flora’s eyes, that anxiety had melted away—if only for a moment.

“Believe me, I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an unexpected update that you can thank step throat for! I ended up needing lots of bed rest, which led to a lot of playing Fates and subsequently to writing this. Enjoy!


	8. family matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family can be the most important thing in a person's life. Sometimes, though, family can cause unexpected hiccoughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to [@SheepyWrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheepyWrites/pseuds/SheepyWrites) and [@JD_Meister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_meister/pseuds/JD_meister). The first of SheepyWrites' Iago-centric drabbles published under the title ["A Study In Iago"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12024273/chapters/27216735) and the first half of JD_Meister's lovely Iagorrin fic ["I Won't Say (I'm In Love)"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12202953/chapters/27711504%22) are what inspired me to crack down and get to work on this. I hope everyone enjoys; we're slowly making our way towards the exciting conclusion!

“Iago. Have you seen Leo as of late?”

Had it been anyone else who had decided to pester him while he worked, he would have told them to shove off and leave him in peace. Sadly, he didn’t have the same luxuries when it came to dealing with the crown prince of Nohr. His eyes slowly wandered from his papers to Xander, in hopes that the look on his face could say all the things he wasn’t able to.

“I’m afraid not, your highness. But then, he’s often gone out of his way to avoid me, so I can’t imagine why I would be of much help in your search.”

“Spare me your attitude, Iago.” Normally Xander’s ‘commanding’ moments were almost laughable to him, but with his nerves on edge, he flinched at the ice in his voice. “No one knows this castle better than you do.”

_Which you only know because of how many times I’ve caught you sneaking around behind your father’s back._ Of course, Iago knew better than to say any of that out loud. He was too tired to play this game—too tired to even come up with some kind of witty response.

“Normally I would agree with you completely on that, Prince Xander, but at the moment I’m afraid I’m busy running a war. I haven’t the time nor the inclination to keep track of your siblings when they should be perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.” He tapped his papers together on the desk, just for the emphasis. “I’ll let you know if I see him. In the meantime, is there anything _else_ I can do for you?”

“…No, Iago. That will be all.” The look in Xander’s eyes would have made many cower, but while Iago felt his skin crawl, he’d been on the receiving end of so much worse from Xander’s father.

When Xander had left, Iago sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to will away his headache. He was just… _exhausted_. There was no way he could keep this up much longer; the fact that he’d managed it for so long was already astounding. Some days it just felt like it would be easier to give up…

He rubbed his neck, which was knotted and sore from his work, and his fingers found the leather cord he wore around his neck. He was so used to it that he honestly forgot he was wearing it at times. Pulling it out of his shirt, he turned the little wooden charm he wore over and over between his fingers.

The cord was long enough that he could bring the charm up to his face without a problem. He held it in his closed fist and pressed his lips to his own knuckles. As he summoned what energy he had left, he focused his attention on the mage who had enchanted the charm in the first place…

He could see it clear as day in his mind’s eyes; Corrin and her party, made up mostly of her siblings and those asinine servants of hers, making their way in through a darkened wood. Since he had last checked in on them the group had managed to find their way to the Woods of the Forlorn. Something much like fear took hold of him. He had _theoretically_ acknowledged the possibility of Corrin and her group reaching Castle Krakenburg, but he had never _really_ thought about such a situation; it was hard enough skirting Garon’s orders when the king’s life _wasn’t_ in danger, and the situation at the concert hall in Cyrkensia had been enough to shave a decade or two off his life—he hadn’t even _been around_ for that.

He tucked the charm back into his shirt, letting the vision fall away. Perhaps he would take a nap; it had been a long time since he’d needed one of those, but there was a reason his study had a couch. If he was going to make any of this work without having his head cleaved from his shoulders, though—he would need every ounce of mental energy he could muster.

 

* * *

 

  _"Corrin? What are you doing in here?”_

_Corrin slammed her book shut by reflex. She flipped around in her chair and found Leo standing much closer than she was expecting, jumping almost a foot in the air._

_“Nothing important! Just studying.” She shoved the book she’d been reading under the pile of other books, then jumped down from her chair to run up and give him a hug. “I’m so happy to see you, Leo! How long are you staying for?”_

_“Not long—just a few days while Father is held up at a conference. Then he’ll expect us back at home.” Leo hugged her in turn, but she could tell he was still interested in the book she’d tried to hide. Sure enough—as soon as she had backed out of the hug, Leo went straight for her study table in the library, slipping the book out of her pile._

_“A book of practical spells?” He opened it up and started leafing through it. Corrin was just grateful that Leo was the sort of person who knew how to handle valuable books. “I thought you were just learning how to fight with a sword. I didn’t know you were learning magic.”_

_“I have a lot of time on my hands.” She shrugged, but she was quick to take the book back from Leo as soon as he’d finished flipping through the first few pages. “It keeps me busy.”_

_“Who’s teaching you? I can’t imagine Gunter has as much knowledge in the ways of magic as he does in the ways of sword fighting…” She could see the gears turning in Leo’s head, and the exact moment that the realization dawned on him. “Corrin…”_

_“It’s okay, Leo! Iago’s a good teacher. I mean… he taught you, didn’t he?”_

_“Not because I wanted him to; Father insisted when he found out I could wield Brynhildr. Is that why he’s around here so often?” Leo had a look on his face like he smelled something foul; Corrin couldn’t help but feel defensive._

_“He’s here to keep an eye on my progress and report back to Father,” she replied, tucking the book back in the stack. “I think he just teaches me because he gets as bored around here as I do.”_

_“Just… be careful around him, okay?” Leo looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Iago is Father’s right hand. He obviously doesn’t have your best interests in mind when he comes here.”_

_“I’ll keep that in mind.” Even as she said it, though, she could feel herself recoiling from it. Oh, she knew Iago well enough to know that he was loyal to her father above all else—but after so long, she liked to think they were friends. Maybe Leo wouldn’t understand, but some strange part of her…_ trusted _him._

* * *

 

“So, this is it, then? You’re just… letting me go?”

“How could I take my own brother prisoner?” And of course, the other option was too unthinkable to even mention. “Besides, I trust you. As long as you don’t plan to attack us again… there’s no need to escalate things.”

“Corrin… I wish I could have your… confidence.” She could tell from the look on her face that ‘confidence’ wasn’t the word Leo originally wanted to use. ‘Naivety’, probably. But she wouldn’t begrudge him for that. “I’m… not sure what to do from here. As a prince of Nohr, I can’t just stand aside and let you go after father, no matter how much we don’t wish to fight each other…”

Corrin… didn’t know how to answer that. She’d extended Leo the chance to join them, but he’d turned it down, not that she’d been expecting any different; he might not have approved of King Garon’s actions, but he was still his father…

“If I may?”

Corrin stepped aside to make room for Azura as she stepped forward; the rest of the party was kindly giving her and Leo room to speak, which she was thankful for. Azura held what looked like a crystal ball out to Leo. Corrin couldn’t help but wonder what it was—she’d never seen Azura with it before. She could feel magic rolling off it in waves, but before she really had a chance to focus on it and maybe try to figure out what it could do, Leo had accepted it and made it disappear somewhere on his person.

“This crystal is a magic item, which should help you to see things… _clearly_ ,” she explained. “Perhaps it will help you find the answers you’re looking for.”

“I… see.” There was a strange look on his face. Maybe touching the crystal had given him a taste of its magic that just looking at it couldn’t. “Thank you, miss…?”

“Azura. And no thanks are necessary,” Azura replied. “Consider it gratitude, for not ending our lives.”

“I just hope I don’t live to regret it,” Leo said with a sigh and an exasperated look on his face. Corrin could tell he didn’t _really_ mean it, but that was just Leo’s way.

Corrin wasn’t sure what their next move should be. Obviously, they had to continue towards the castle, but surely the roads to the capitol were bound to be blocked off…

“Corrin, can I speak with you for a moment?”

She was pulled away from her thoughts once again by Leo. He was standing off to the side and with a nod of his head pointed away from the main group, wanting her to follow him. For a moment, a pound of something icy settled in her stomach, but Azura’s gentle touch on her arm drew her back.

“Go on. We’re not far.”

Corrin nodded and tried her best to look regal as she strode over to join Leo. She probably didn’t do very well; she was exhausted, and with everything that had been going on, she hadn’t really gotten a chance to sleep. With what had happened with Flora…

“Corrin, do you really intend to overthrow Father?”

Again, Leo’s question caught her off guard, distracted as she was by her own thoughts. She really needed to get a handle on that—one day it was going to get her killed.

“I’m… not sure, Leo. I honestly don’t know. Right now, I’m more concerned about making it through this war alive.” What _was_ her plan when she got to Castle Krakenburg? They hadn’t really had a chance to talk about it… “I want things to end peacefully, Leo. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. But I can’t just let him take over Hoshido and keep killing innocent people. I know things aren’t black and white, but you can’t deny that King Garon is a vicious man.”

“I… suppose I can’t.” Leo looked pained. Corrin wished there was a different way, one that wouldn’t involve putting her in direct opposition with her family… but she knew this war needed to end. “All I can say is… be careful, and don’t do anything rash.”

“Trust me, I’m not planning on it.” She laughed, even though there wasn’t anything funny in this situation. “Though if we stand around talking much longer, I might not have a choice…”

“Actually… Father has no idea you’re here.”

That was enough to stop her laughter—from shock if nothing else.

“Wh… what?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this…” Leo sighed. “But Father’s people lost track of you around Mount Garou. They’re still looking for you.”

“Well… that’s not quite true. King Garon tracked us down around Macarath.” She still got a shiver down her spine thinking about it…

“Oh?” Evidently Leo had no idea about Garon’s plan to use Flora to infiltrate their group; she could tell by the genuinely surprised look on his face. She was… glad. She really had no idea who she could trust anymore…

“Mm. But if he’s lost us since then, we might have a real shot of getting to Windmire without having to fight our way through the army!” She couldn’t help it; Corrin brightened with each word. If they could get to King Garon with a minimal loss of life—!

Leo had gone quiet, his expression serious. Corrin stopped smiling. She realized, too late, that it was insensitive of her to talk so brightly about invading Leo’s home… even if her intentions were noble. She would have apologized, if Leo hadn’t interrupted to spare her.

“The path through Fort Dragonfall is probably the quickest,” he said, maintaining his serious expression. “If you’re serious about ending this war without violence… I won’t join you, but I’m not going to stand in your way, either. Father and Iago don’t know I’m here, so there’s no need for them to know about this encounter. Just… be careful. It’s a pretty obvious route to Windmire, so it’s a prime spot for an ambush.”

Iago… just when Corrin had been distracted enough to stop thinking about him, Leo had to go and mention him. She still had no clue what was going on with him, though she had one idea she desperately _wanted_ to be true…

“Speaking of Iago… has he been acting… oddly, as of late?” She tried to phrase the question as casually as possible. Maybe _too_ casually. She didn’t sound at all like she was asking for information about an enemy general—she sounded like she was asking after the wellbeing of an old friend. Damn.

“Iago? I can honestly say I haven’t noticed. I try to keep away from him, you know that.” Leo narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. “Why do you ask…?”

“No reason,” she lied immediately, and regretted it. “Well… _some_ reason, of course. Just… something I noticed about his war tactics, that’s all. If he’s planning something, I need to know. But I might just be paranoid.”

Leo eyed her suspiciously, and Corrin just stared right back at him. If it had been Xander and Camilla, she might have broken down and admitted the truth… but she could stare her younger brother down and lie right to his face without a problem. It didn’t make her feel good, but that was the least of her worries.

Leo sighed. “Try to focus on your own mission. If you can end the war, Iago won’t be a problem,” he said, and she nodded. “I should leave now, before I’m missed. If I run into you in Krakenburg… don’t expect a friendly reception.”

“I understand. One of us being branded a traitor is bad enough.” It still stung to call herself that, though not as much as she thought it would. Garon could call her whatever he wanted to; it wasn’t going to stop her.

Without even thinking about it, she reached out to hug him. Leo stiffened, and Corrin realized what she was doing. This wasn’t one of their goodbyes at the Northern Fortress; they were parting as potential enemies! She made to pull away and apologize, but Leo wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.

“Stay safe, sister.”

“You too, brother.”

 

* * *

 

  _His worst visits to the Northern Fortress were when Corrin’s siblings insisted on accompanying him. The trip northwards was bad enough when he was accompanied only by silent servants; having Garon’s three children along made him want to drive a stake into his eye. He could only imagine how bad it would be once Princess Elise was old enough to accompany them…_

_As loath as he was to admit it, he also missed Corrin’s company during those visits. Not because he was particularly_ eager _to see her—perish the thought—but there was little else to do but go through her lessons and listen to her yammer on while he was there. When her siblings were visiting, though, she was too preoccupied with their company to bother with him._

_He also wasn’t fond of the way Corrin’s siblings looked at him when they were in the Northern Fortress. They’d always made it clear that they thought very little of him, but with their precious_ Corrin _about, he was pure evil in their eyes. Camilla would hurry Corrin along when she tried to stop and say hello to him, Xander always watched him like a hawk, and Leo…_

_“Iago.”_

_He jumped in his seat. He’d been so intently focused on his paperwork that he hadn’t even heard Leo come in—not that he_ should _have let himself in to Iago’s study in the first place. He knew better._

_“Lord Leo.” He tried not to sound overtly disdainful, but it was a near thing. “My apologies, I didn’t hear you_ knock _.”_

_“Spare me, Iago,” Leo sighed. Iago wrinkled his nose at Leo’s tone. Even_ his _disrespect was normally not so…_ overt _. “Are you teaching Corrin how to use magic?”_

_Iago sighed. Of course it was something like that… he shouldn’t have expected Corrin would be able to keep something a secret, particularly from her siblings. She had kept it from the dullards she lived with long enough that he’d just taken it for granted._

_“And if I am, milord? What of it?” Well, the two of them could play that game. He’d been looking down on people since before Leo was_ born _._

_“You don’t do anything without a purpose, Iago.”_

_“And that purpose is to stave off_ boredom _, Lord Leo. Instructing your sister gives me something to do in this dreary fortress your father insists I keep visiting.” He picked up his papers and tapped them against the desk to even them out, mostly to accentuate his point. “Not that I would ever question King Garon’s judgement.”_

_Leo glared at him. He’d seen that look on his face often enough—he’d been_ his _magic tutor for years, after all, until Leo could properly use Brynhildr and could convince his father he didn’t need detailed instruction any longer._

_“She said the same thing,” he said, giving him a look that was very much like a pout. It took everything he had for Iago not to roll his eyes._

_“Then I suppose she’s more astute than I give her credit for,” he said flatly. He set his papers aside and steepled his fingers, looking pointedly at Leo. “Was that all, Lord Leo? Might I be able to get back to my work now?”_

_Leo stared at him as if he could find answers or truth in his face—but Iago simply met his gaze, let him look right into his eyes, and kept his expression pointedly blank._

_“…nothing more, Iago. You can go back to your work.” Leo turned away from him with a flourish, like he wasn’t worth his time. It almost warmed Iago’s heart to know Leo had to go to such lengths to save face in front of him._

_“Have a good evening, Lord Leo,” he said mockingly as the youngest prince of Nohr slammed his office door on the way out._

* * *

 

Iago was startled awake by the sound of a door slamming.

He jumped, nearly falling right off the settee he’d been napping on. How long had he been asleep…? More importantly, _why_ was someone slamming his study door?

“Iago.”

Oh, gods… _that_ was among the last voices he wanted to hear just after waking up. He blindly groped around for his cape and mask, but Leo was impatient, and soon Iago saw his feet in front of him. He took his time looking up to see the displeased look on Leo’s face.

“Mm… hello, Lord Leo. I’m sorry, I must not have heard you _knock_.” He didn’t even try to hide his sneer. With everything that was going on, he simply didn’t have the patience to play nice. “I believe Lord Xander was looking for you earlier.”

“I’ll be sure to check in with him. But for now, I have something to ask you… if you’re not too busy napping.”

“Not all of us have the luxury of getting a full night of sleep in the middle of a war, milord.” He got up from the settee and affixed his cape around his shoulders, turning his back to Leo. His fire had gone out, but despite the chill in the air he didn’t want to bother reigniting it, and his mask and headdress could wait.

“I want to see the plans you’ve drawn up for our upcoming battles.”

He froze as he stopped by his desk.

“Now, Lord Leo… why would you want to see those? Surely your own orders are enough?” He sat down at his desk and started shuffling papers—trying to surreptitiously move the majority of them into his desk drawers so he could lock them away. Most people would have no idea what they were looking at if they saw his battle plans, but Leo might have enough tactical knowledge to get at least an inkling… and if he didn’t have _full_ knowledge, he would no doubt misunderstand, and would take any available opportunity to sell him out to Garon…

“My own orders would make more sense if I knew the plan in full. It’s important to keep the big picture in mind, after all.” Leo raised an eyebrow at him, as if to challenge him to say otherwise.

Oh, he _hated_ this game… this game of pretending they were on the same side, each trying to skirt around the other’s machinations. But while he was too tired to feign politeness, this game was one he couldn’t afford to pass up…

“I… see. That is true, Lord Leo. However… I’m afraid I can’t show you the battle plans at the moment.” The gears were grinding in his head as he tried to come up with a good reason for _why_. And Leo didn’t seem like he was going to wait patiently for an answer… “I’m at a very delicate phase of the planning process. You’ll have to come back later.”

Leo regarded him suspiciously, but Iago just stared back, _daring_ him to challenge him on this…

“Then I should leave you to your work. I’ll stop by again later.” Leo narrowed his eyes at him, but it was obvious he didn’t have any kind of comeback, witty or otherwise.

“Don’t forget to check in with Xander.” He gave Leo his best obviously fake smile, and Leo just glared harder before turning on his heel and walking out, slamming the door behind him again.

Iago waited several heartbeats before he jumped up from his seat and ran to the door, locking it. He quickly started the fire—using magic rather than fumbling with traditional means—and started frantically shoving papers into the fire, shoving them around with a poker to make sure they burned properly and didn’t leave any scraps for nosy people like _Leo_ to find.

Damn it all…! Why did he think he could do this? He’d been just barely dodging death, and with Leo shoving his nose into things, it was all going to be for nothing!

As he finished burning the incriminating papers—making sure there was nothing left but ashes—he dropped back into the settee and took several deep, calming breaths. This was no time to panic—he needed to keep a clear head. Otherwise no one was going to make it out alive…

_Corrin… please, just keep your distance!_

* * *

 

 “Achoo!”

“Here, Lady Corrin—your handkerchief.”

“Thank you, Jakob.” Corrin sniffed and dabbed at her nose with the offered hankie, before shoving it into her bag to be washed later.

“You’re not coming down with a cold, are you? Would you like me to fetch you a blanket, or a warm mug of tea?”

“Jakob—we’re marching! We don’t have time for any of that. Though I appreciate the offer. Anyway, it was just a tickle in my nose, not a big deal.”

“Mother always used to say that meant someone somewhere was talking about you,” Sakura said.

“Well, maybe—”

“Corrin.”

Whatever she was going to say was lost as Ryoma turned to her and gestured for her to come forward. She clambered up over a rock to join him—and couldn’t help but stare at the sight in front of her.

“We’ve reached Fort Dragonfall,” he said, clapping her on the shoulder. “Thanks to you, we’re almost to Windmire.”

“If we keep up this pace, this war could be over in days!” Hinoka clapped her other shoulder and smiled at her.

Corrin smiled back at both of her siblings—but it was superficial. She wanted the war to be over, of course, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was nothing to celebrate… not yet.

 

* * *

 

  _Iago?”_

_“Yes, Corrin?”_

_“We’re friends, aren’t we?”_

_“…”_

_“Iago…?”_

_“…you’re a princess, milady. Questions like that are… improper.”_

_“Come on, Iago. We both know you don’t really care about all that. Tell me honestly.”_

_“…”_

_“I can be here all night, you know. I’ve got nowhere to be.”_

_“…then yes, Corrin. I suppose we are… friends.”_

_“There… was that so hard?”_

_“Harder than you know, Corrin. Harder than you know.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did Leo end up back at the palace so fast? Well, since he didn't give Corrin and co the teleportation spell to get to the Rainbow Sage (a detour I didn't think was necessary given certain developments so far in this fic and ones we'll learn of later), he probably used it to get himself, Niles, and Odin back to the palace before anyone would realize they were gone!


	9. invasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spires reaching up to the sky, a secret city beneath the very heart of Nohr-- Corrin and company have finally reached Windmire, while Iago is struggling with the potential consequences of his actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the quickest this fic has ever updated since the original first couple of chapters. I'm hoping to get this one done before my burst of inspiration runs out, and we're actually not that far from the end-- in fact, this chapter covers up to the end of Chapter 23.

_Corrin stared out the window and sighed. From this room, she could see the stables, where Lilith and the servants who had made the journey from Windmire were packing up Iago’s things and preparing his horse while he stood around and gestured wildly at them. She couldn’t hear him, but she could tell he was snapping at them, probably ordering them around…_

_“Lady Corrin?”_

_She suddenly sat up straight and twisted around, folding her hands in her lap and giving Gunter her best ‘I’m totally innocent’ smile._

_“Yes, Gunter?”_

_“You’re late for breakfast, and giving Jakob an aneurysm in the process.” Gunter slipped into the room and softly shut the door behind him. “What are you up to?”_

_“Oh, nothing.” She tried to sit so she was blocking the view out the window, but Gunter knew her too well, and walked right up and peered around her. He obviously didn’t like what he saw—his face darkened in the way it usually did when Iago was around…_

_“So Iago is almost prepared to leave.” He certainly didn’t sound sad to see him go, but then, Corrin already knew they didn’t get along. They’d hated each other since before she could remember…_

_“I was just wishing I could go with him,” she said with a sigh. Gunter raised an eyebrow at her, and she stuck her hands up. “Because I want to see Windmire and Castle Krakenburg, of course.”_

_“Of course.” He didn’t sound like he believed her, but he didn’t say anything more about it, which she was grateful for. It also meant it was time to change the subject…_

_“Gunter… what’s Windmire like?” She rested her elbows on her knees and tucked her chin into her hands. (She knew it was terrible posture, but if Gunter didn’t want to correct her for it…)_

_“Well… it’s a massive city, the biggest in the entire kingdom of Nohr. You’ll see more people walking down the street than you’ve seen in your entire life.”_

_“Is it beautiful?”_

_“In its own way, Corrin. In its own way.”_

* * *

“Stick close to me, milady. The people around here… can get nervous around new faces. And yours isn’t exactly the most popular face in Nohr right now.”

Corrin nodded. Regardless of how they met, Corrin had no reason to doubt Shura—she knew full well she wasn’t regarded very highly in Nohr, and the last thing she wanted was to run into any trouble when they were _so close_. Still… she couldn’t help but admire the city-within-a-city Shura had brought them to. It was so vibrant and full of life, nothing like the city streets above!

“Aww, don’t be such a worry wart, Shura! Don’t worry, Corrin, everyone down here is super friendly.”

Elise walked by her side and swung her arm as they held hands. Okay, maybe she was a little biased about the ‘hidden capital’ being so vibrant… after all, Elise lit up a room anywhere she went, in Corrin’s opinion.

“Friendly to a little girl selling flowers, sure… but maybe not so much to a traitor princess and the royalty of Hoshido, hm?”

“Oh… I guess you’ve got a point. But still, don’t let him scare you, Corrin. These are all good people.”

“They certainly seem more welcoming than the ones who met us above.” Azura walked in Elise’s other side, and Elise had insisted on taking her hand as well, so Corrin and Azura were walking with her swinging their arms between them. If things had gone differently, maybe they could be doing this strolling down the streets of Hoshido, or through the market as a real family, and not… whatever they were.

“Yeah, yeah.” Shura snorted, but Corrin could tell he was smiling just a bit at Azura’s little dig. Spirits were high all around, though she felt that was probably more from adrenaline than a _real_ good mood… well, except for Elise, of course. After all, they were preparing to start the most dangerous leg of their journey…

“Hey, Corrin?” Elise looked up at her as they walked along. Corrin tried to look down at her without tripping over something or walking right into Shura’s back.

“Yes, Elise?”

“You’re not planning to… _fight_ Father and Xander, are you?”

Her heart clenched before Elise had even finished the sentence. It was hard enough having to admit something like that to Leo—but to Elise? She just didn’t know what to say…

“I… don’t _want_ to, Elise. I’m hoping King Garon will listen to reason, and I’m hoping I won’t run into Xander at all.” A hope she would cling to no matter how futile—the last thing she wanted to do was have to square off against Xander. She might have gotten a lot stronger since he’d seen her last, but she had no doubt he had gotten stronger too. “But if I _have_ to fight them to end this war… then I will.”

“Oh…” Elise looked down and stopped skipping. It broke her heart to see, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie to Elise about something like that. “But you’re going to try and talk it out first, right?”

“Of course.” Corrin gave Elise’s hand a comforting squeeze. “The last thing I want is more violence. I just want this war to be over.”

“Good,” Elise said with a nod, starting up her arm swinging again. “Because that’s what I want, too. And with me there, I’m sure Father will listen to us.”

“I hope so, Elise. I really, really hope so.” But somehow, Corrin had her doubts.

 

* * *

 

The catacombs that ran for miles beneath Castle Krakenburg were Iago’s last refuge. Almost no one knew about them—and those that did probably thought he had no idea they existed. After all, why would he allow such an obvious threat to King Garon’s safety to exist? Of course, Iago _always_ had use for a quick, secret way out…

He scurried through the tunnels, headed for one of the many ways to sneak into or out of the castle. He had no idea where he was going to go or what he was going to do, but he’d had too many close calls already to risk it; sooner or later King Garon would figure out what he’d been doing, and considering he knew full well how Garon dealt with traitors…

“I-Iago?!”

Camilla’s voice made him jump, all of the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight up. He’d always hated most of Garon’s children, but now…!

“P-Princess Camilla. What are _you_ doing down here?” He turned in the direction of her voice and tried to give her his best stern glare—an effect somewhat ruined by the fact that there was a fearful stammer in his voice. He was the best sorcerer in the kingdom of Nohr—but they were in close quarters, and Camilla wielded an axe nearly as big as he was. He was hardly stupid.

“I-I could be asking you the same thing!” She glared back, but the way her lips were pursed and the way she had her hand brought up to her chest—not to mention the stammer in _her_ voice… _she_ was nervous about getting caught down in the catacombs as well. Meaning she wasn’t there on orders from her father…

“ _I’m_ here to secure these passages. We can’t risk enemy soldiers infiltrating the palace and making an attempt on your father’s life like they did at Cyrkensia,” he said with confidence. His paranoia was evidently getting the better of him—no one had any real evidence of his treasonous acts, and Leo risked exposing his own suspicious behaviour by going to Garon with any hunch he might have. Camilla hadn’t been sent to find him—she was skulking around in the catacombs for her own reasons, and just as worried about getting caught as he was! “So I’ll ask again—what are _you_ doing down here?”

“O-oh… the same thing, of course,” she lied blatantly. “So you can just leave this section to me and my retainers.”

“Nonsense, Princess Camilla.” He slathered his voice in the most fake, saccharine tone he could manage, and smiled at her in the same way. “With how you’ve been locked away in your chambers, you’ve _obviously_ been feeling under the weather. You should be resting; leave such matters to me. Unless there’s some other reason you’ve been hiding away in your room…?”

He raised an eyebrow at her and tried not to smirk at his own genius as she grew visibly more distressed. The princes and princesses were always sneaking around, trying to hide something from their father… with tensions ramped as high as they were at the moment, it was easy enough to take advantage of.

“I-I… just want to do more to help,” she lied again.

“You can help by conserving your strength; we’ll need you in the battles to come. I suggest you head back to your chambers, milady…”

He and Camilla stared each other down for several long, tense moments. Iago wondered if she _was_ going to pull a weapon on him anyway, to silence him about her sneaking around—but soon enough, Camilla gave him an unpleasant forced smile and faked a cough.

“You’re right, Iago,” she said, though she sounded none too pleased about having to go along with the act. “I shouldn’t be down here in this damp. If you’ll excuse me…”

“I hope you feel better, milady.” He watched her retreat the way he had come, and waited for several moments to make sure she wasn’t coming back before leaning against the nearest wall and letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding in in the form of a relieved sigh.

 

* * *

 

 “I… _think_ it’s this way…”

“You _think_ it’s this way?”

“H-hey, it’s not my fault we’re not going the same way I normally go! Camilla only told me how to get down here the one way… Besides, I thought you said you knew how to get into the castle?”

“Yeah, into the _castle_ … not the throne room. But popping up in one of the outer towers isn’t gonna do us much good.”

While Elise and Shura were busy having their not-quite-argument, Corrin looked around at the various passages. The tunnels under Castle Krakenburg were a lot less inviting than the market; it was hot, damp, and poorly lit, with dusty old boxes to trip over and traps to worry about. Takumi held up the torch he was carrying to each of the passages, but the light didn’t shine very far; it was nearly as spooky as the Woods of the Forlorn had been…

“What do you think, Corrin? I don’t think those two are going to figure it out any time soon.” Takumi offered her the torch. She took it and lit another bit of wood with an oil cloth wrapped around the end to make her own torch. “Any ideas?”

“Only if ‘eenie meenie’ counts,” she admitted. There were four passages, and no indication which might be the right one—and they were probably all filled with traps, too… and maybe even more branching paths. How would they ever find their way to Garon without running into the guards…?

“Takumi, could I speak with you for a moment?”

“Hm? Yeah, sure.”

Takumi wandered off to speak with Ryoma, leaving Corrin to consider the passages on her own. For some reason, one of the passages kept drawing her eye—every time she peered down the few feet the torch would let her see, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

Her feet started moving without her brain’s input. Her instincts were telling her it was important for her to go down that passage… and hadn’t Ryoma been trying to encourage her to follow her instincts?

She didn’t even realize when she’d left her party behind…

 

* * *

 

“Has anyone seen Corrin?”

Whatever Ryoma and Takumi were talking about, they stopped immediately and turned to Azura. It took a little while longer for Shura and Elise to realize she was trying to get their attention, but after a moment they were also silent.

“She was right here a minute ago.” Takumi looked around like he had just misplaced her, and he would find her sitting on top of a crate or something. “Corrin?”

“You don’t think she went off on her own, do you?” Hinoka was grimacing, likely thinking the worst. Not that Azura could blame her… this place was unpleasant enough to give anyone negative thoughts.

“M-maybe she’s just scouting ahead…” Sakura offered, but didn’t look any more hopeful than Hinoka.

“I’m certain that’s the case. Corrin wouldn’t simply wander off without telling anyone where she was going,” Ryoma said, but even he didn’t sound completely sure. “All the same… we should split up and look for her. She may run into unexpected troubles.”

“I’ll wait here,” Lilith said. “That way, when you find her, we can all meet back here and go back to camp to figure out our next move.”

“Good idea. Takumi, Ryoma, Azura—each of us should take one of these passages.” Hinoka gestured to each of the five passageways that branched off the storage room they were standing in. “She can’t have gotten far, so even if you don’t find her, come back here in fifteen minutes—that way we won’t _all_ get separated.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as the other members of their party divided themselves up among the leaders Hinoka had pointed out.

“Lady Azura… sorry if this is too forward… but would you mind if I accompanied you?” The way Shura approached was almost bashful.

“Not at all,” Azura said with a smile. “But we should hurry… we’re too deep in enemy territory to leave Corrin alone for long.”

She didn’t say it, but she was also worried about Corrin on a personal level; she’d seemed distracted and upset for some time, and even though she was usually so open with her about what was bothering her, she hadn’t even told Azura what was wrong… she just hoped it had nothing to do with her sudden disappearance. She had a bad feeling about all of this…

_Corrin… please be alright._

  

* * *

 

By the time she realized she’d wandered away from the group, Corrin was… lost. She hadn’t been thinking—if anything she’d been in almost a fugue state, walking forward with a purpose even she didn’t understand, driven on purely by her instincts.

She waved the torch around, but it was less dimly lit here; there were torches bracketed in the wall, so she must have been close enough to the castle that this portion of the catacombs was actually being used. That thought put her on edge, and while one hand gripped her torch, the other rested on the hilt of her sword. There could be enemy soldiers anywhere… she found herself jumping at shadows. Why had she wandered away from her siblings and the rest of the party? She hadn’t even told anyone she was leaving—she could get captured and none of them would have any idea! How could she have been so—

Movement in the corner of her eye cut her thoughts short. She drew her sword in one fluid movement—it was too big to be a rat or some other pest looking through the castle’s storage.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” Maybe it was a bad idea to announce herself, but it’s not like they wouldn’t have seen her torch—

“C-Corrin?”

The figure went from an indistinct blob to a person as they stepped into the light of her torch—a torch she dropped at one good look of their shocked face.

“I-Iago?”


	10. together, apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amazing what a few steel bars can do to separate two worlds-- and what it absolutely cannot contain. Iago is the Hoshidans' prisoner, and Corrin is conflicted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the chapter I wanted to write since before this fic even became a fully fledged idea. You can basically put the blame for the rest of this project on the last scene of this chapter. You're welcome, and I'm sorry.
> 
> This chapter was screened by JD ([@JD_Meister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_meister/pseuds/JD_meister)) and Allie ([@Opalie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opalie/pseuds/Opalie)), whose encouraging words assured me I am not the absolute worst at plot twists. Thanks folks!

This was it, wasn’t it? This was how he was going to die. Of all the enemies he’d made, of all the times he’d nearly gotten caught for out and out treason since the war had begun—stumbling into _Corrin_ in the dark was going to be what did him in.

They simply stood there and stared at each other for a moment—Corrin was slack jawed with surprise, and he didn’t imagine he looked much better—before she realized she was supposed to be threatening him, and the point of her strange Hoshidan sword was suddenly pointed at his chest.

“Don’t reach for your tome,” she said as a warning. If it had been anyone else, that would be _exactly_ what he was doing—but raising a weapon against her…

“Corrin?” A distant voice cut through the tension and sent a chill down Iago’s spine. From bad to worse—just his luck. Not that he expected Corrin to be wandering around under Castle Krakenburg alone…

Corrin looked just as surprised by the sudden voices as he was. In fact, she looked almost frantic, glancing from him to look back over her shoulder, in complete disregard of the fact that turning away from an enemy even briefly could cost you your life.

“Put your tome on the ground,” she said suddenly, gesturing at him with her sword. There was something like desperation in her eyes and voice. He didn’t argue; he carefully reached under his cape, removed it from its ‘holster’, and dropped it on the ground. “And… and put your hands up.”

He did as he was told and put his hands up in front of him as she crouched down to pick up his tome and tuck it under the arm that wasn’t wielding her sword.

“Corrin?” The voice called again. Corrin looked even more frazzled than before, and he noticed a minute quiver in her hand, making her sword wobble as she held it to his chest.

“Just keep quiet and listen to what I tell you to do, okay?” She fixed him with a look that told him she wasn’t messing around in the slightest. He nodded; since he wasn’t planning to attack, and there was nowhere he could run to, he didn’t see another option regardless.

Two figures cast in shadow rounded the corner at the far end of the hall, behind Corrin. As they approached the light cast by Corrin’s dropped torch—which thankfully hadn’t found anything flammable to set them all ablaze—he recognized them both. One was a thief and scoundrel well known throughout Windmire for accosting the well-to-do, though Iago had never bothered to learn his name; the other he could remember seeing with Corrin throughout her journey, but he didn’t _truly_ recognize until that moment. The blue of her hair was unmistakeable—she was Lady Arete’s daughter, the one who the Hoshidans had kidnapped in retaliation for Garon’s kidnapping of Corrin.

“Corrin, are you alright? What’s going on here?” Both had their weapons at the ready, though Iago was unarmed, defenceless, and already being held at the point of Corrin’s sword.

“I’m fine,” she answered quickly, prompting the blue haired one to relax. The thief did no such thing. He kept his short bow, the sort that was still effective at such close range, trained on him with every intent to let fly if he made the wrong move. “Shura, do you have any ropes, or anything that could be used as restraints?”

“I could figure something out, sure.”

“Then please—secure the prisoner.”

Both relief flooded and fear flooded through him. He wasn’t going to die here—but being taken prisoner by the Hoshidan army hardly sounded pleasant. Even if Corrin was a merciful woman, he wasn’t sure the same could be said could be said of the rest of her army…

“You… sure about that, Lady Corrin? You… know who this is, right?” The thief—Shura, he supposed—lowered his bow, but didn’t put it away. There was always one…

“I’m aware.” She kept her sword drawn on him, but took a step back to give Shura room to move around her, rope in hand as he finally put up his weapon. “I’ve already disarmed him. He’ll cooperate.”

They locked eyes for a moment, but he didn’t need to see Corrin’s intensely serious expression to put his hands out in front of him with his wrists together. He was sure this Shura character would love an excuse to go for his weapon.

“Corrin… isn’t that…”

“Yes, Azura. Iago—Garon’s right hand, Nohr’s master summoner and tactician, and the general of the Nohrian army.”

Had the circumstances been different, Iago might have preened at the use of all his titles, but he wasn’t sure any of them would apply after this…

“Then we should get him back to our base as quickly as possible,” Azura suggested. “Ryoma will want to know about this… especially since you just slipped away without telling anyone.”

“A-ah…! I didn’t even realize!” Corrin cringed and shook her head. So typical… he might have laughed if there were any humor in the situation. “Let’s get back. I don’t want to worry anyone…”

“Come on.” Shura the thief had the end of the rope that was tied around his hands and guided him forward like he was leading a mule. Normally Iago wasn’t in the business of sneering at people who had him at their mercy, but he made an exception for him.

He was led past Azura and Corrin, and as he passed her, their eyes met for just a moment. There was something sad, almost remorseful in her expression… until her eye wandered down and caught sight of something. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, but when he followed her gaze, the only thing he could see was his necklace—

“Corrin? Are you alright?”

“I’m—I’m fine. Let’s get back to Ryoma and the others…”

 

* * *

 

Flora looked up from her book when she heard the heavy prison doors open, then slam shut. At first, she’d hidden the little things Felicia brought her whenever someone came through, but soon enough she realized they didn’t care—Corrin didn’t want her uncomfortable, but the Hoshidans couldn’t afford the risk of releasing her either.

Prince Ryoma’s ill-tempered retainer appeared around the corner, walking through the prison and checking each of the cells. He’d done the same when they’d first locked her up… were they bringing in a new prisoner?

She got up from her bed and peered out through the bars. It didn’t give her much of a better view—but it did cause the ninja to stop and give her an unfriendly look when he came to her cell.

“Step back,” he said gruffly. “We have a new prisoner coming through.”

“So I’d gathered.” Still, even if he wasn’t being very polite, she listened to his instructions. The Hoshidans treated her with respect and dignity, generally speaking—but she was still their prisoner, thanks to her own poor judgement and Garon’s ruthlessness. She stepped back, but stayed close enough to see what was going on. Felicia had said they were moving in on Windmire—had they reached the castle already? It was hard to tell how much time had passed in this strange realm…

Though the man that came next was wearing Nohrian clothes, she didn’t recognize him like she did the other Nohrian members of Corrin’s army. Ryoma’s retainer seemed just as unhappy to see him as he usually was to see her—

She knew she probably looked silly when they brought the prisoner by. Her eyes felt like they would pop out of her head if she opened them any wider, and she instinctively backed away from the cell door by a step. But by the time Iago turned to look at her with his usual condescension, she’d regained her composure.

“Flora,” he said with a sneer in her voice, and the memory of his attempt to blow her up at Macarath came back to her. A chill swept through the prison.

“Iago,” she replied with venom in her tone, but the unfamiliar Nohrian ushered Iago forward before she could say anything else—not that she had any more to say to _him_.

Thankfully, the prison was bare enough that they gave him a cell far from hers, at the far end of the prison—she wasn’t sure she could stomach being stuck close to him, and she certainly didn’t want to _look_ at him.

When the ninja came back by her cell, she was sitting back on her bed with her book open in her lap. She was too distracted to actually read—but she did a good job of staring at the pages and making it look like she was. He paused, stared at her with a sharp eye—and left, the Nohrian following after.

To have Iago as her prisoner—what had Lady Corrin been up to since she saw her last...?

 

* * *

 

_“So? How do I look?”_

_Corrin twirled, and Felicia clapped like she was at a performance, rather than just watching Corrin model her new dress. Well—new to her, at least. Flora and Jakob had helped her to take some of her old dresses—ones that were stained or didn’t fit quite right anymore—to make into something new. They’d done most of the work, but she’d tried to help as much as possible, even if that meant a good dozen or so nasty finger pricks…_

_“You look so pretty, Lady Corrin!” Felicia said, bounding in her seat._

_“Indeed. I’m glad to see our labors put to such good use,” Jakob added. She’d been so focused on the dress that she hadn’t noticed him come in with afternoon tea. “Ah! And as you requested, milady, I’m here to inform you that…_ Iago _has arrived.”_

_Jakob said his name like it was a curse, but Corrin didn’t stick around to reprimand him for it—she was already out the door and halfway down the hall, ignoring Jakob’s call to come back and have her tea before it got cold._

_Corrin raced all the way to Iago’s room; he was at the fortress so often she couldn’t think of it as anything but. She came to a screeching halt in front of his door and straightened out her new dress as she bounced on her feet. She reached up to knock—and hesitated. A sudden bout of nerves had overtaken her._

_“Corrin? I know you’re there.” Iago’s voice made her jump, but also banished the nerves in an instant. “You might as well—”_

_She burst through the door and practically threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him. Iago tensed—he wasn’t the sort of person who liked being touched so suddenly—but soon enough, his hand came to rest between her shoulder blades._

_“—come in, I was going to say. Did you have your servants spying on me again?”_

_“Only because you take your sweet time telling me when you’ve arrived!” She looked up at him with her arms still wrapped around his torso; he rolled his eyes at her. She was expecting a lecture, or at least a petty barb, but when he looked back down at her—_

_“Your—dress. It’s new, yes?”_

_She stared up at him wordlessly. A long moment passed before Iago lifted his hand to his mouth and coughed awkwardly._

_“Considering the nearest tailor is several days away, and I’ve seen your entire wardrobe by now…”_

_“I didn’t think you’d notice!” She couldn’t help it; she_ beamed _as she released him from her grip and took a step back so she could twirl for him like she had for Felicia. His reaction was much more lackluster, but to get a reaction from Iago at_ all _over something as small as a new dress…_

_“It suits you. Not that I know anything about fashion,” he admitted. “Now all you need is a pair of shoes…”_

_Corrin giggled, then covered her mouth to hide the fact that she was giggling, then turned red when she realized Iago looked amused by the way she was giggling…_

_That was the moment she realized she’d never been happier._

* * *

 

Corrin awoke suddenly. She didn’t bolt up in bed, or shout—one moment she was asleep, the next she was staring at the ceiling in the dark. Even burrowed in her blankets, she felt as cold as ice…

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. In the darkness, everything in her room was made up of indistinct, vaguely menacing shadows… though she knew it was paranoia, she couldn’t help but feel like there were things lurking there, waiting to jump out and grab her.

What a dream to be having… and what a time to be having it. She’d expected seeing Iago in the flesh to dredge up some memories… muddy the waters, as it were. But her brain had such a way of picking the memories that made her the most confused! At least she hadn’t had to fight him; his quiet surrender meant she didn’t have to deal with even _more_ complicated feelings.

She lit the candle Jakob always left by her bed with the tinderbox she kept in the nightstand. Somehow, she doubted she was getting back to sleep, loath as she was to admit it. When they left the Astral Plane in the morning, they would be right back in the heart of Windmire, and she would need to be rested. But her mind was racing, and she needed something to quiet it…

Before she even realized what she was doing, Corrin had donned her robe and was carefully making her way out of her quarters; as fun as it was to live in a treehouse sometimes, it could be awfully inconvenient.

With candle in hand, dressed in her robe and night clothes, Corrin moved through the camp—and never even sensed the eyes on her, watching her every move.

 

* * *

 

Movement across camp caught Saizo’s eye. Even at this hour, people moving around camp wasn’t unusual—they had guards on duty constantly, in case of attack from those strange semi-visible soldiers. But the person in question wasn’t on duty, wasn’t on any kind of patrol route, and was wandering about in their nightclothes—suspicious enough for anyone.

ESPECIALLY suspicious for Lady Corrin.

She moved across camp with a candleholder, looking almost like she was in a daze. Sleepwalking, perhaps…? No, she seemed very much awake, or at least halfway there.

He followed her, keeping the same distance he would keep were he following an enemy or a suspected spy, and sticking to the shadows.

From his perch in a nearby tree, Saizo watched as Corrin approached the prison, and the guard on duty—Jakob.

“Lady Corrin?! What are you doing out at this hour? And in your nightclothes, no less—you’ll catch your death of cold!” Saizo couldn’t fault Jakob’s dedication, but he certainly _could_ fault his common sense—something was obviously going on, but he was more concerned with Corrin’s choice of outfit.

“I’m fine, Jakob—it’s nice and warm out, nowhere near as bad as the fortress used to be.” Lady Corrin _sounded_ normal, and didn’t have that lack of inflection people under the control of a curse often had, so he (tentatively) struck that option off his list. “Actually, I need to ask you a favor…”

“Of course, Lady Corrin. Anything.”

“I need to… see a prisoner. Privately. And I need your silence.”

Saizo narrowed his eye. People often called ninja paranoid, but even the most naïve person alive couldn’t have mistaken that for anything less than _extremely suspicious_.

“L-Lady Corrin…” Jakob looked uneasy, but recovered quickly enough. “Might I ask… to what purpose?”

“…only if you promise not to laugh at me.”

“Milday, I would never!”

“See, since just before this war began, I’ve been having… dreams. You remember the one I told you guys about, the one where I dreamt some Hoshidans were calling me their siblings? Well, that one came true, and since then I’ve been having all kinds of dreams—memories, mostly, that have been helping me figure out what my next move should be. And I just woke up from one that I think might be really important.”

So… Lady Corrin was having prophetic dreams. Or so she claimed. It was a clever story—it wasn’t as though anyone could disprove such a thing. And to have such a dream when her servant who would do anything she asked was on guard duty at the prison—very convenient.

“And you need to speak with a prisoner alone… because of this dream? I would feel much less uneasy if you allowed me to accompany you.”

“It’s… embarrassing, Jakob. I would really prefer to do this on my own.”

“I… if you’re quite certain about this, Lady Corrin.” Jakob sighed and opened the massive, heavy door of the prison for her. “But I’ll be just out here. I will come the _moment_ you call, should you need me…”

“And I’ve always appreciated it, Jakob. Thank you.” With her candle in hand, Corrin entered the prison.

Saizo would have been within his rights to go up to Jakob and demand to be let in; he would have been within his rights to even go right up to Corrin and question her about her suspicious behaviour. As a retainer to Lord Ryoma, anything that might threaten the wellbeing of his liege was his business. But that was hardly the way of the ninja... and if he were going to accuse a member of the royal family, even Corrin, he would need a better understanding of the situation.

If he couldn’t go past Jakob… he would just have to find an alternate route. A prison without a way for the guards or interrogators to escape should a prisoner get loose was little more than a killing floor—and he’d been very involved in the construction of the building.

He wasted no time slipping into the prison, but Corrin was wasting plenty, luckily for him. He watched her from a passage in the ceiling as she stood just inside the prison door, which Jakob had shut behind her—not that he had a choice, given that it was designed not to be propped or held open longer than it needed to be. She was just standing there, her eyes shut, body tense as a wire—nervous, and steeling herself for something.

Eventually she crept around the corner, obviously trying to be quiet—she wasn’t quite ninja quiet, but since she wasn’t wearing shoes, she did a half-decent job of it. There weren’t that many prisoners at the moment—and when Corrin carefully tiptoed past Flora asleep in her cell, he knew exactly where she would be going.

Corrin crept up to the bars of the cell. From this angle, he had a perfect view—he could even see the prisoner asleep on their cot, and the way they stirred when Corrin brought the light of her candle up to the bars.

“Iago? Are you awake?”

He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. It took him a moment to really _look_ at Corrin—and he was obviously shocked to see her.

“…Corrin? What are _you_ doing here…? At this hour… in your bedclothes…?” He took a moment to reorient himself, then sneered at his cell. There was no sneer on his face when he looked at Corrin, though—odd for an enemy general looking at the person who had captured him.

“…” Corrin’s silence was heavy. The two stood and stared at each other from opposite sides of the prison bars for what felt like a century. “It’s… kind of a long story. But I had to come and see you. How… are you doing? And please keep your voice down; I don’t want to wake Flora up.”

“How am I doing? Fairly well, for having been captured by an enemy army and thrown into prison.” Iago’s words were dripping with sarcasm, and he crossed his arms almost defensively.

“No one’s been bothering you?”

“Well, that thief doesn’t seem especially fond of me, and the less said about that red-haired brute the better…” He was talking about him, he supposed. Well, good. To have the Nohrian general think of him as a brute was practically a compliment, in his eyes. “But no. I’ve been left to my own devices. I would have expected an interrogation, at the very least…”

“We’ve… had a rough couple of days.” An army leader and her captive being so casual with one another… his suspicions were growing with every passing moment.

“Mm. I imagine kidnapping your sister must have been very difficult.”

“I didn’t kidnap Elise! You know I would never do something like that!” Corrin should have sounded angry at such an insult—but instead she sounded like a child throwing a tantrum, and Iago looked amused. “She joined us of her own free will—I even tried to get her to go home, but she wouldn’t have it.”

“I stumbled into Lady Camilla in the same catacombs where you found me; she must have been looking for her.”

“She was? Damn… I should have expected that, but it kind of complicates things…” Corrin sighed. “Oh well. Just another bridge to cross when I come to it, I suppose.”

“Corrin… why are you here?” Iago sighed as well. “This conversation is pointless. And it’s certainly not why you’re here at this hour, looking like you just jumped out of bed.”

“I… you’re right. I never was any good at hiding things from you, was I?”

“The worst, Corrin. The absolute worst.”

Corrin… _laughed_. And Iago smiled, however fleeting.

“Truth be told… I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I had a dream about you, and… I guess I had to make sure.”

Corrin reached in through the bars… and reached up to _cup Iago’s face_ , running her thumb over his cheekbone. He even leaned into her touch before she pulled away!

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you without your mask…”

“Too long,” Iago agreed, and his expression suddenly became serious, even a bit dark. “But if anyone should be worried about anyone…”

“I’m fine, Iago. And you always did say I needed to toughen up…” Corrin laughed, but cut herself off when this time _Iago_ reached through the bars and cupped _her_ cheek. His finger traced over a spot just below her eye—with nails like his, he could have gouged it out without a second thought and even Saizo would have been unable to stop it, though that would have been Corrin’s own damn fault. Not that he was really concerned for her safety right now…

“You didn’t have this scar before,” he said, then reached down to take Corrin’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, prompting her to tilt her head up. “Or this one.”

“Well, this _is_ war… danger is to be expected on a battlefield.”

“Not for you!” Iago blurted out, probably louder than he meant to. He scrunched his face up and turned away from Corrin. “Why can’t you just be a spoiled, decadent brat? Keeping away from the conflict while your servants tend to your every need? But no, you had to run off to the damned enemy, and you weren’t even smart enough to keep your distance!”

“Iago… I know what you’ve been doing.”

Iago slowly turned back towards her. He was a naturally pale man, but any color that was left in his face had drained; if he’d looked shocked before, it was nothing on how he looked now.

“At first, I wasn’t sure…” Corrin took a step closer so she was right up against the bars, hands wrapped around two of them. “I thought it was just coincidence and wishful thinking. When you showed up at Macarath, though… I had real hope. And when I saw this…”

Corrin reached into the cell again and touched the necklace Iago was wearing. Saizo remembered taking note of if when he’d searched him for weapons, but Orochi had told him it was an amateur’s charm, old enough that it probably wasn’t even of any use any longer, and since Iago had seemed ready to fight to keep it, he’d let sleeping dogs lie.

“Well, then I knew. And… because I know how hard it must have been for you, I feel so selfish, but… it made me really happy.”

“Corrin…” Iago’s expression softened. Saizo couldn’t get a good view of Corrin’s face from this angle, but judging by the way she reached up to dab at her face with the sleeve of her robe, she was tearing up.

“I didn’t want to worry you… and I never wanted to put you in danger, Iago. Not only from everything you’ve done, but—if someone other than me found you down there—if you hadn’t surrendered—”

Iago’s hands cupped Corrin’s face. The two locked eyes, utterly silent for several moments. Like the two were speaking without words. Corrin’s hand slipped around the back of Iago’s neck.

The two closed their eyes, leaned forward—and their lips met.

It was so brief that Saizo almost didn’t believe what he’d seen. Prison bars didn’t make it easy on them, either. But Iago and Corrin pressed their foreheads together, eyes still closed, each of them with a hand tangled in the other’s hair—Corrin was still tearing up, Iago seemed like he very well might.

“You have no idea how terrified I was, Corrin. If you _ever_ put me through that again…”

“I won’t, my love. I won’t.” Corrin’s voice was shaky from her tears. The two just stood there with their foreheads pressed together, hands in each other’s hair, the fingers of their other hands interlocked—

Eventually, Corrin must have remembered where they were and what was going on, because she opened her eyes and took a (reluctant) step back. Iago didn’t release her hand, and she didn’t seem keen on letting go of him, either.

“I’ll—I’ll be back. I promise.” She squeezed his hand, stared at him a moment longer—then pulled away, grabbed her candle, and practically ran for the entrance to the prison. Her exit was nowhere near as quiet as her entrance.

Saizo stayed long enough to watch Iago back away from his cell door in a daze, gripping the little charm that hung around his neck—but he didn’t dally. Ryoma needed to know what he’d seen. _Immediately_.

 

* * *

 

_Iago half sighed, half grumbled as the first rays of morning sun filtered through the window. He was sure Gunter had chosen a room for him that had an east facing window out of spite, but it was partly his fault, too—he hadn’t bothered to draw the shades around the bed the night before._

_He rolled over, turning his eyes away from the harsh light of the morning sun—and found himself chest to back with a second warm body._

_His arm fell across her waist as he tucked his head in against her neck, humming atonally against her skin. She stirred, giggled, and tried to swat him in the face at the same time as she scooted back to press in closer against him._

_“Good morning, Iago.” She craned her head round to look at him. Ivory hair that was sticking up every which way in the worst case of bedhead he’d ever seen tickled his face and neck; sleepy red eyes regarded him with such tenderness he knew he didn’t deserve._

_“Good morning, Corrin,” he responded, and leaned in to kiss her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely want to know what everyone thought of that. I was nervous throughout writing this that I was either giving too many obvious hints about the nature of Iago and Corrin's relationship--or that I was being too vague and it would come out of absolutely nowhere. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.


	11. to the world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets can rarely be kept forever. Corrin and Iago's secret come to light, and a new plan is hatched for the Hoshidan army.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter screened by JD ([@JD_meister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_meister/pseuds/JD_meister)) and Allie ([@Opalie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opalie/pseuds/Opalie))! You can thank their influence for the particularly mushy scene that starts this chapter. xD

_“Do you really have to go?”_

_Iago sighed as he pulled his cape around his shoulders. Even without looking at Corrin, he knew she was making that face—the one she made whenever she really, really wanted to get her way. Not that it worked on him, not at all—but he’d seen Gunter and her siblings fall under her sway. Of course._

_“I’ve already delayed my return for too long. The storm gave me a good excuse, but now that it’s passed… Well, let’s just say your father would_ not _be pleased if I dallied any longer.”_

_After his cape came his ornamental gorget; he slipped his arms into the ropes and settled it on his shoulders. Behind him, Corrin shifted on the bed, sliding over to the edge._

_“Here…” She tugged on his cape and he sat on the edge of the bed in front of her, allowing her to fasten the clasp of his gorget. Normally he would have a servant do such a thing, but that was obviously out of the question…_

_Corrin slipped her arms around him from behind and rested her head between his shoulder blades. Either a clever attempt to try and trap him there—or she just wasn’t fully awake yet. Not a morning person in the least._

_He sighed. Who would have ever thought he’d be in this situation? Certainly not him…_

_“I need to finish packing, Corrin,” he reminded her, though his hand came to rest over hers where she had settled it on his chest. “If I could stay longer without rousing suspicion, I would… but perhaps it’s for the best.”_

_“What…” Corrin broke up her sentence with a yawn. “Do you mean…?”_

_“We both know what a terrible liar you are, Corrin. Sooner or later, you’re going to slip up and everyone here will find out about us. I don’t want to be here when that happens.” He was more than prepared for the inevitability of it, but…_

_“Because when Gunter finds out, he’s going to skin you alive?” Corrin asked, nuzzling up against him from behind._

_“Because when Gunter finds out, he’s certainly going to_ try _. I’d like to see the old fool get the best of me.” He turned his head so he could see Corrin; she was grinning like an idiot, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Though I imagine anything he could think up would be infinitely more pleasant than what your father will do to me if he finds out…”_

_Whereas Gunter (and Corrin’s other servants) posed little more than an annoyance, the thought of King Garon knowing about their…_ dalliances _made a shiver run down his spine and a block of ice settle in the pit of his stomach. It must have showed on his face, because Corrin laughed at him._

_“Imagine,_ Iago _lying to his beloved King Garon… all because of me. I’m flattered.”_

_She scooted around on the bed so she was sitting next to him, and in one fluid motion she pushed herself off the bed and dropped right into his lap. Automatically his arms wrapped around her waist to draw her close. He couldn’t imagine how she wasn’t freezing half to death without the warmth of the blankets she’d just abandoned—he was fully dressed and the damp chill of an early winter morning in this northern hellscape had every part of him red from head to toe. (It was certainly the temperature, and not Corrin in her underclothes—not in the slightest. Why did she even own such impractical undergarments when she lived in a place like this?)_

_“What His Majesty doesn’t know won’t hurt him…” Normally he would have had a witty response, but he was having a hard time even keeping his voice steady, because now Corrin was nuzzling into the crook of his neck._

_“Good. Because he doesn’t need to know why you’re a few more hours late…” She kissed along the line of his jaw, and he sighed—half exasperated, half content._

_A sudden knock at the door made him almost throw Corrin off his lap—if she hadn’t jumped and scrambled away first._

_“Iago? Your servants have already prepared your horse. Or are you so eager to stay here and torment me for even longer?”_

_Gunter… damn him and his timing! He wanted to spit a stream of curses at him, but he somehow managed to keep his composure… (Thank the gods he’d remembered to lock his door the night before!)_

_“Quite on the contrary; I’m counting the moments until I no longer have to look at your wrinkled face or hear your incessant nagging, old man,” he responded icily. Behind him, Corrin snorted like she was about to laugh, but slapped her hands over her mouth and held her breath. He put a finger to his mouth, gesturing frantically for her to be quiet, but he couldn’t help but laugh as silently as he could at the same time…_

_“Good. Glad to hear we finally agree on something. Now get out of here, you scoundrel.”_

_Iago listened for Gunter’s sharp footsteps, and waited several heartbeats after they had disappeared before he breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as he did, Corrin burst out in a fit of giggles that had her practically doubled over. He failed to see the humor in the situation—but to each their own, he supposed._

_“M-maybe you’re right…” Corrin giggled a few more times, wiping a laughter tear from her eye. “It’s probably for the best if you head back. The last thing either of us needs is to have another heart attack like that!”_

_“Especially since your siblings will be arriving any day now… I wouldn’t be surprised if I ran into them on the return journey.” He moved back so he was sitting next to Corrin and casually started to play with a long strand of her hair that was sticking up at an odd angle. “Lady Elise has a tendency to ignore any and all requests for privacy…”_

_“She can be… energetic, I’ll admit,” Corrin said, leaning into his touch with a sigh. “I’m still going to miss you, though.”_

Not for long... _he thought, but didn’t say anything. He knew her siblings were coming to retrieve her and bring her back to Castle Krakenburg—but_ she _wasn’t supposed to know, and neither was he. Iago had ears everywhere…_

_“Of course you will. I’m your only choice for intelligent conversation in a place like this… not to mention the most handsome person you know.”_

_“Stop that!” Corrin smacked him in the arm, but she was laughing again, and collapsed against him. “Gods, you’re so arrogant!”_

_“But you love it.”_

_“Of course I do. I love everything about you—even the annoying parts.” She patted the same part of his arm that she’d smacked._

_“How sweet.” He sighed and laced their fingers together. “I’ll… miss you too, Corrin. …I love you.”_

_Corrin looked up at him with her eyes practically sparkling; her awed look changed gradually to a wide smile, and he felt himself flush._

_“I’ve told you that before!”_

_“I just like hearing you say it.” Corrin squeezed his hand and buried her face in his shoulder. “I love you too, Iago.”_

* * *

 

Corrin couldn’t sleep.

She knew she had to—they were heading right into the heart of enemy territory as soon as they left, and being tired and distracted from a lack of sleep might just be the end of her. But when she got back to her room after her… chat… with Iago, her mind was racing too fast for her to even think about sleeping.

After tossing and turning for a few minutes, trying to not think about what had just happened while at the same time thinking about it too much, she decided just to get up. Surely she could find something more productive to do around camp—or, at least, more distracting.

She was slipping on the last few adornments of her armor when someone knocked frantically on her door.

“L-Lady Corrin? Are y-you awake?”

“Felicia? What’s wrong?” Felicia wasn’t the most emotionally steady person she knew, but it was definitely not like her to be so upset without a good reason. Surely they weren’t under attack…?

“I-it’s Saizo! He’s brought Lord Ryoma and Lady Hinoka and Lord Takumi and Lady Azura to the war room and he’s saying all these things about you and about Jakob and—and—oooh, you better just come quick!”

“S-Saizo is…? I’m coming, Felicia.” Corrin fastened her cape to her shoulders and marched straight to the door. The sooner she dealt with this, the better… and it seemed like exactly the sort of thing that would make a great distraction.

Felicia jogged frantically ahead of her, stopping occasionally to make sure Corrin was still following, until they came to the room they used to hold war council meetings. Felicia knocked, and Kaze answered.

“Lady Corrin. Thank you for your promptness. And thank you for fetching her, Felicia.” Kaze stepped aside, holding the door open for both of them. Corrin followed the nervous Felicia, who was biting her lip and wringing her hands—

—and froze when the first thing she spotted on entering the room was Iago, with his hands bound behind the back of a chair.

The next thing she noticed was the very loud argument going on between Jakob and Saizo. It was enough to distract her from her knee-jerk desire to run up to Iago and make sure he was alright—but he looked fine, just incredibly annoyed, and that wasn’t exactly… _normal_ for someone to do with an enemy general.

“In all my years I’ve never heard such wild, disgraceful accusations—really, Saizo, why you insist on embarrassing yourself like this, I cannot comprehend. Lady Corrin is the heart and soul of this army!”

“Your words mean _nothing_ , Jakob—not when she tricked you so easily. No, tricked is giving you too much credit; she didn’t even _have_ to trick you to get you to go along with her treachery.”

“Hold your tongue, you cur!”

“They’ve been doing this for a while,” Kaze said with a sigh. “There seems to be no end in sight, without more information. Perhaps you can clear up the matter, Lady Corrin?”

She had no idea what was going on, and was prepared to tell Kaze as much when Ryoma—who was watching Jakob and Saizo’s heated argument with a pained expression—caught sight of her over the squabble.

“Saizo, Jakob. Enough. This squabbling is pointless, and getting us no nearer to the truth. The only person who can truly answer Saizo’s accusations… is Corrin.”

Saizo turned to glare at her, but Jakob looked relieved. He smiled—but as was usual for Jakob, his smile wasn’t entirely pleasant.

“Finally. An end to all this nonsense. Milady, _please_ tell this wretch how ridiculous he’s being.”

“Hmph. She could tell you the moon was made of cheese and you’d _still_ go along with her every word. How pathetic.”

“As if I couldn’t say the same for you and Lord Ryoma. A butler’s only purpose in life is to please their master and fulfill their wishes; what excuse do _you_ have for being the boot licker you are?”

“Why you—”

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” With Iago there in the room, obviously not just there for decoration, Corrin had a feeling she already knew—but she was hoping otherwise.

“Saizo woke us all up to tell us he caught you sneaking around camp, convincing Jakob to let you in the prison by yourself, and having a clandestine meeting with Iago,” Takumi explained, ever the most direct of her siblings—but with that explanation, her heart sank.

She really hated being right sometimes.

“Jakob’s been arguing with him the whole time, saying he’s a liar—I know Saizo would never lie to Ryoma, but he’s… mistaken, right, Corrin?” Hinoka looked at her hopefully, and Corrin could feel every eye in the room on her—whether hateful, hopeful, or totally impartial. But the eyes she sought out were none of the above; they were tired, exasperated… as she and Iago locked eyes, he nodded his head over to Saizo and Jakob, and rolled his eyes.

It was almost enough to make her laugh, and just enough to make her smile, which must have confused everyone else, but the world-weary smile she got in return from Iago was more than enough to make it worth while before they both went back to their serious neutral expressions.

“I…” She had no idea what to say to them. “Saizo, what exactly are you accusing me of?”

“Fraternizing with the enemy,” Saizo replied simply. “I heard everything, Lady Corrin… _saw_ everything, from the moment you left your room and went wandering across camp. Perhaps you didn’t say anything openly damning… but unless you have a good explanation for what I saw, for the sake of Ryoma’s safety I have to assume you’re a traitor.”

“I… see. Well, I’m glad my brother has someone as dependable as you looking out for him, Saizo.”

“Flattery won’t help you.”

Corrin closed her eyes and pushed her hand through her hair. What could she say? If she lied, she was sure Ryoma and the others would believe her, but it would only increase Saizo’s suspicion, and sooner or later something would have to give…

Well, they did always say the truth would set you free.

“If that’s the accusation Saizo is laying before me… I’m afraid I can’t truthfully refute it,” she admitted.

A hush fell over the room.

“Corrin… you can’t be serious.” It was Hinoka who broke the silence, a pained expression on her face that brought a sharp pang to Corrin’s heart.

“Milady… do you even _know_ what this scoundrel has been accusing you of?! I’m sure you wouldn’t be so quick to agree if you heard his full account…” Jakob frowned at her, but there was a sort of desperation in his eyes, as if he were pleading with her for it to not be true. Part of her wished she could say it was, just to make her family and her closest friends stop looking at her like that—and then her eyes wandered back to Iago, and for all the pain and shame in the world, she wouldn’t have changed anything.

“She knows exactly what I’ve been saying. Don’t you, Lady Corrin?” Saizo glared at her, but she stared right back—not angry, not defensive, just… calm. There was a certain serenity in knowing the truth was going to be out there, finally.

“I have a pretty good idea, yeah.”

“So much for your lies, Jakob,” Saizo said with a sneer that couldn’t be seen, but could be heard clearly enough. Azura cleared her throat—Corrin had hardly noticed her there, she’d been so quiet, but she didn’t look like the rest. She didn’t seem troubled—she seemed almost as calm as Corrin was starting to feel.

“Saizo, I would very much like to hear Corrin’s side of the story. If you don’t mind,” she said curtly. Saizo bowed to her.

“Of course, Lady Azura. My apologies.” He didn’t seem embarrassed or angry at being put in his place; maybe he was just feeling too vindicated by her confession.

“Well… I imagine Saizo’s told you that he saw me leave my room a few hours ago, in just my nightclothes, and go to the prison where Jakob was on duty… that’s true.”

There were nods as everyone followed along, probably thinking about what exactly Saizo had told them. Maybe they were all just as distracted by his argument with Jakob as she had been.

“He probably also told you I lied to Jakob to get him to let me into the prison alone so I could talk to a prisoner.” More nodding. “That’s… partially true.”

“Lady Corrin!” Jakob looked shocked and betrayed.

“I didn’t lie to you, Jakob. I told you I’ve been having strange dreams from my past that have been helping me make decisions about the future when things have been difficult, and that’s true. But that’s not really the reason I wanted to get into the prison. I thought it was when I spoke with you, but…”

“But?” Ryoma looked right into her eyes, his own narrowed—not in anger, but in stern authority, like he was ready to look right into her soul and figure out if she was telling the truth. Just like Xander, and Gunter… it was almost nostalgic.

“But the truth is, I just wanted to see Iago. Since I keep having these dreams right before something bad happens… I don’t know.” She shook her head. It was all so hard to explain… her own feelings and thoughts were so complicated right now she’d been trying to actively _avoid_ them. Having them make sense to other people was downright impossible.

“And what about… what happened in the prison? Is that all true?” Takumi looked more confused than anything. It was a welcome change from the way he’d looked at her when she’d first come to Hoshido; he’d been so ready to throw her to the wolves, but now, when she was being accused of treason, he obviously didn’t want to believe it.

Somehow… it made her angry.

It was irrational, and she knew full well it was irrational. Her family was worried about her, and Saizo was literally accusing her of betraying Hoshido, so it was only natural that they all looked so uncomfortable. But knowing it was irrational didn’t change how she felt.

“What did he say ‘happened in the prison’? That I was concerned about Iago’s wellbeing after he was locked up, like I was worried about Flora? That I touched his face, held his hand, _kissed_ him?” The words were pouring out faster than she could really stop and think about them, but the truth was important, and obviously eager to be told. “Because all of that… is true.”

“L-Lady Corrin!” That one was Felicia. Everyone looked shocked… but Jakob and Felicia looked most shocked of all. That didn’t surprise her. They were the only ones in the room who really knew Iago—not just as the Nohrian general, but as a person. And they… had never gotten along.

“So you confess, then?” Saizo asked gruffly. He was back to being all business; his happiness about being vindicated was gone.

“To fraternizing with the enemy, yes. But not to treason.” She narrowed her eyes at Saizo. “You said it yourself; I didn’t say anything that would constitute passing on information, did I? Unless you know a way to pass on army secrets through mouth on mouth contact.”

Saizo glared at her, and she glared right back. The anger that was building up in her… it still felt calm. Cold, even, compared to the red hot anger she was used to.

She wondered if this was how Iago felt. Why he’d always expressed his displeasure in insults and threats, never by raising his voice. It was… different.

“In fact, the only person in this room who could be accused of helping the enemy… is Iago.”

Shocked murmurs sprouted up around her, but she wasn’t paying attention to the rest of the room anymore. She had eyes only for Iago. She moved towards him; no one tried to stop her as she stepped up to the chair he’d been tied to and put her hand to his cheek.

“So you’re saying—Iago has been _helping_ us?” Corrin could hear the disbelief in Hinoka’s voice. If the shoe was on the other foot, she supposed she would feel the same…

“At first, I wasn’t sure,” Corrin replied, letting her hand drop to press against his chest. Iago was staring at her, but he remained completely silent. His eyes said more than enough… he was tired and angry, but at her touch his expression softened. She held his necklace charm between her fingers, twirling it around. “I thought I was just reading too much into coincidences. But haven’t any of you wondered why we’ve met with so little resistance from the Nohrian army? Why we always seem to be skirt our way around their forces and avoid capture? How they’re always around just a bit too late to run into us?”

“Yes… I imagined it to simply be the result of good luck and efficient planning. But you believe Iago was responsible, Corrin?” Ryoma asked. Iago snorted, and several people shot glares at him—but none sharper or more venomous than Saizo.

“Something to say, worm?”

“No, no. I simply find it amusing to consider a ragtag group such as this evading the entirety of the Nohrian army without assistance.”

“You insolent—”

“Be at peace, Saizo,” Ryoma said, resting a hand on his retainer’s shoulder. “His manners may be lacking, but there’s truth to his words. I can think of many times we should have, by all rights, walked right into a Nohrian ambush… and yet here we are.”

“And what really cinched it for me was Macarath, once we found out Flora was leading us into a trap. If Flora was Garon’s spy, why would Garon’s right-hand man attack her?” Corrin’s hand moved to Iago’s shoulder. Now that she was touching him, she found it hard to stop—especially given the amount of hostility in the room. Protective urges were welling up in her right alongside that cold anger.

“To gain our trust? Zola did the exact same thing,” Takumi pointed out, but Corrin shook her head.

“Even after we captured her, Flora told me she had no idea what Iago was planning, and that kind of magic isn’t something you throw around if you don’t _want_ to hurt someone. If Felicia hadn’t tackled Flora out of the way…” Well, Corrin didn’t really want to think about it. But at the same time… she was grateful. Would she have been able to figure out Flora’s treachery if not for Iago’s interference? What might have happened if he hadn’t been there…? It was a hypothetical she _also_ didn’t want to think about.

“If this is the truth… how do you answer to this, Iago?” Ryoma still had a hand on Saizo’s shoulder as he turned to look at Iago, which was probably for the best; Saizo looked about ready to explode, even more so than he usually did.

Iago… was silent. He wouldn’t look anyone in the eye—not even her. He stared into his own lap, closed his eyes, and took a few heavy moments to compose himself before meeting Ryoma’s eyes with a completely empty face.

“I am a general of Nohr and I in no way intended to assist the Hoshidan army in their assault on King Garon,” he said very carefully. “But if the Nohrian army’s maneuvers were concocted to prevent the merciless death of a former princess of Nohr, even one on His Majesty’s bad graces… then I suppose you could say I _unintentionally_ assisted your forces.”

“So you _were_ helping us this whole time,” Azura said, and Iago turned to her with quite a foul look on his face.

“I would have wiped out your pathetic cause the first moment it rose up… had it not been for Corrin,” he said, looking rather insulted. Corrin’s hand moved to his neck—partly as a comforting gesture, partly because Saizo was looking none too friendly… “None of your lives mean anything to me, other than hers. Not even yours, Lady Azura. No matter who your mother was.”

“A-ah… yes, I suppose you would have known my mother, wouldn’t you…” Azura frowned at him, then turned to Corrin. “Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner, Corrin?”

“Like I said, I really couldn’t be sure… it could have all been a coincidence, or an overactive imagination. That was another reason I wanted to see him alone in the prison,” she explained. “But now… I’m sure of it.”

“Oh? And how do you know he hasn’t just been playing you for a fool this entire time, Lady Corrin?” Saizo asked, glaring at her with both his good and bad eyes, which… was creepy looking, she had to say. “Zola was able to do so, after all.”

“Saizo, that’s quite enough,” Ryoma said. “I’ve always valued your insight and relied on your suspicious nature, but Corrin _is_ my sister, and as my retainer I ask you show her the same respect you show my other siblings.”

“…my apologies, Lord Ryoma.” Where Azura calling him out hadn’t damaged his pride in the least, Saizo looked genuinely pained when Ryoma did so. Even though he was being rather… uncouth, Corrin couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“…I’m afraid I can’t answer that, Saizo. Not in any way I think would make sense to you… it would be a very long story.” Again she started fiddling with Iago’s necklace, the one she had given him so many years ago… even though they hadn’t been able to be together as a real couple, he’d always worn it when he visited the Northern Fortress, as a symbol of affection. Part of that, she was sure, was just to flaunt it right under Gunter and her servants and her siblings’ noses without them having a clue… but she’d always hoped it brought him real happiness and comfort. That he’d never taken it off… “But believe me when I say I know Iago well enough to know his intentions. I swear on my life.”

She looked Saizo directly in the eye. The two of them stared at each other, Saizo’s unwavering stare looking for any sign of uncertainty, and she… just stared right back at him until finally, he looked away in defeat.

“Lady Corrin… why?” It was Jakob this time, looking well and truly dismayed. “Why would you trust a scoundrel like Iago? Even when you considered King Garon your father rather than your enemy, he was a snake!”

“I’m sitting right here, you know.”

“Yes, unfortunately you are.” Jakob and Iago stared daggers at each other—just like old times. It would have been funny if this whole ordeal weren’t so stressful…

“I trust him, Jakob… because I love him.”

“I see, milady. I can’t say I…” Jakob trailed off, realization dawning on his face slowly. “Wait, _what_? Lady Corrin, you can’t be serious!”

“I am, Jakob. Iago and I are lovers. …why else do you think I would be doing all those things Saizo was accusing me of?!”

“I’m certain I don’t know! But never in my right mind would I have expected _that_!”

“Well, as interesting as all of this is… now that we know Corrin’s not a traitor, can we all just go back to bed?” Takumi sighed. Corrin thought that sounded like a good idea, but…

“Wait a moment,” Azura interjected, cutting her thought short. She walked towards Iago, and instinctively Corrin moved closer to him, putting a hand on each shoulder—not that she expected Azura of anything dastardly, not at all. “Iago, Corrin has told us that you’re King Garon’s right hand man and most trusted advisor, and yet all this time you’ve been defying his direct orders to protect her life, have you not?”

Corrin felt Iago tense up, and she squeezed his shoulders reassuringly. Though he relaxed, there was nothing to be done about the horrible look on his face… it was a glare that would have rivalled Oboro’s demonic expression.

“I… did not _defy_ King Garon’s orders. I simply interpreted them in such a way that put Corrin in the least amount of danger,” he explained through gritted teeth.

“But still, you used your power as King Garon’s right hand to protect Corrin. And surely you know now that we plan to confront Garon directly to end this war.”

“I… suspected something as idiotic as that, yes,” Iago said, taking a deep, calming breath. “What of it, Lady Azura?”

“Well, if you truly wish to keep Corrin safe, perhaps you can use your influence to help us to reach King Garon.”

Iago stared at her. As did Corrin. And… most other people in the room.

“Azura, you can’t be serious,” Hinoka said. “I mean, I want as many advantages as possible, but this is too much.”

“She’s right, Lady Azura. Surely you can’t expect this cad to—”

“I’ll do it.”

Everyone immediately looked at Iago. Even Corrin was incredibly shocked. Iago hadn’t even felt comfortable bending or obfuscating the truth with Garon—how could he be alright with something like _this_?

“I-Iago? Are you… are you certain?” she asked. He sighed and looked up at her—and suddenly, from the look in his eyes, Corrin knew she was the only person in the room. The only one who mattered, at least… and she was home. Everyone always said Iago’s stare was unsettling, but to her it had been of great comfort, and now… now she realized how much she had missed it.

Oh, gods, she had missed _him_. More than she was sure she would ever be able to say. She’d had so many other things to think about and worry about, and of course the idea of losing her Nohrian siblings had been crushing enough to push everything else to the back of her mind… but the thought of never seeing Iago again except as enemies? It made her feel sick.

“Corrin, against all odds, you trust me. And I… trust you. You’re hopelessly naïve, and no matter how much Garon told your brother and Gunter to beat it out of you, terribly opposed to violence. Were _anyone else_ leading this shaggy band, I would sooner let myself be executed on the spot than let them within a mile of His Majesty.” He had a grim expression, but leaned into the hand she used to cup his cheek regardless. “I can tell you won’t be swayed by any argument I could make. Since I know you’ll do it regardless, if it will keep you from doing something rash and stupid and getting yourself killed… I’ll do it. If anyone could stand up to King Garon and convince him to end the hostilities… it’s you.”

She could tell how painful it was for Iago to say such a thing. He’d always been unfalteringly loyal to King Garon—but she felt so overwhelmingly grateful she almost felt like she was going to cry.

“But if any of you try to use such an opportunity to take His Majesty unawares, I’ll be the first to strike you down.” Aaand there was the Iago she knew and loved. “So… if I’m joining in on this charade, is someone going to untie me?”

“Don’t push your luck,” Saizo and Jakob said in unison, and Corrin decided she could almost get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A gorget is a piece of armor traditionally used to protect the neck and shoulders. From the 18th century onwards, decorative gorgets were used as plate and heavier armors were phased out and gave way to more maneuverable battle uniforms. Recent advances in military science may see a return of the gorget in the form of anti-ballistic armor designed to protect sensitive areas of the body, including the throat and upper chest. It's a very loose term generally indicating any sort of armor, practical or decorative, that's worn around the neck/shoulders, so it was the best approximate I could think of for the thing Iago wears around his neck.
> 
> We're almost painfully close to hitting a huge vein of plot, folks! Hard hats on!


	12. the seeds of rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A heart divided cannot beat. Corrin begins to deal with the fallout of her revealed relationship, while Iago struggles with his decision to help the Hoshidan army for her sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're SO CLOSE to the end, you guys! Only a few more chapters to go!
> 
> Once again, a big thanks to JD ([@JD_Meister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_meister/pseuds/JD_meister)) and Allie ([@Opalie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opalie)) for beta reading this chapter! Especially Allie, who advised some tweaks to the Hans portion of this chapter that I think made it turn out twice as good as it started out.

“So, Lady Corrin… how long?”

Corrin sighed and covered her face with her hands, pushing her hair back as she turned to look at Jakob.

“Jakob… do we really need to do this right now? I’m tired.” Once that anger had drained out of her, once she was no longer invigorated by Iago’s presence… her entire body sagged as the adrenaline left, leaving her wanting nothing more than her warm bed for the few hours she had before daybreak.

“I… I’m sorry, Lady Corrin. But I do believe you owe Felicia and I an explanation…” It clearly took a lot out of Jakob to say something like that to her—and he wasn’t wrong. She probably did owe them an explanation…

“…fine. But I’m not exactly in the best mood, after that mess and not getting to sleep,” she said, crossing her arms and leaning back against the little stone bannister she’d been standing in front of. “Iago and I have been together for… almost four years now. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“L-Lady Corrin!” Felicia gasped dramatically. “S-so back at the Northern Fortress…?”

“Of course. Where else would we have been?” Corrin was sure that she’d feel bad later about being so snappish with Felicia, but she’d made it clear that she wasn’t in the mood to answer questions… she just wanted to go to bed.

“All those years, right under our noses… and you didn’t say a thing?” Jakob looked genuinely distressed. Corrin might have felt sorry for him—if not for some of the things he’d said in there.

“Well, I obviously couldn’t let Gunter find out. He would have flayed Iago alive,” she explained. Even just thinking about those days back in the Northern Fortress was enough to get to her… but she had enough emotions to deal with without adding what had happened to Gunter to the mix.

“And with good reason! Even putting aside Iago’s… _personality_ … the age difference alone…!” Maybe at any other time she would have found Jakob’s scandalized expression funny, but right now it just made her angry.

“Jakob, I don’t need to explain or justify myself to you, and I’m _definitely_ not in the mood for this.” She sighed and pushed her hands through her hair. It was all just—too much, and she was starting to feel overwhelmed…

“Jakob… maybe you should leave Lady Corrin alone.”

Even Corrin was surprised to hear something like that from Felicia—she normally had a hard time being that forceful with Jakob. Jakob was obviously surprised, too—though it was hard to tell, since he’d been making some pretty comical surprised faces ever since she’d confessed to Iago being her lover.

“Um… I-I mean… we can always talk about this another time, right? Everyone’s tired and cranky, and we all need to rest up for tomorrow…” she explained. “Lady Corrin already said she was tired and didn’t want to talk about this now… so a-as her servants, we should listen to her wishes and let her get some rest.”

“Ah… Felicia, you shame me. You’re absolutely right. My deepest apologies, Lady Corrin…” Much like when Ryoma had silenced Saizo, Jakob looked completely taken aback and deeply ashamed. “I’ve shamed myself as your butler and allowed my emotions to get the better of me. How embarrassing…”

“You’re… forgiven, Jakob,” Corrin sighed. “But I really do need to go to bed.”

“Would you mind if I walked you to your room?”

Corrin jumped at Azura’s voice. Her nerves were completely on edge after that… _meeting_. (The lack of sleep remained a contributing factor.)

“A-Azura… I didn’t see you there. I… guess that would be fine.” The last thing she wanted was more conversation, but Azura… was different. After all, she was the only person who seemed to be on her side… “Goodnight, Jakob. Goodnight, Felicia.”

“Goodnight, Lady Corrin,” they said in unison as Azura offered her arm. Corrin took it—glad for an excuse to lean on someone.

“You’re not going to give me a hard time too, are you?” she asked as they descended the stairs arm in arm, bound for her treehouse. It took her a moment to realize how snappish she’d sounded. “Sorry, sorry… this whole night’s just been really getting under my skin.”

“I can see why… that was quite the circus in there, wasn’t it?” Azura shook her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry for all of that.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Azura. You didn’t do anything… and besides, it was all going to happen sooner or later.” Corrin sighed. “If anything, you were the most helpful person in the room.”

“You looked like you needed someone to be. If we’re being honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this whole situation, but… I trust you, and I want to help, in any way I can.”

As usual, Azura was the bright light in her often dark world. Corrin felt warm all over, which was a welcome change from the cold that had flooded into her in the war room.

“I have to ask, though… is this what’s been bothering you this entire time? This situation with Iago?” Azura asked. Corrin couldn’t help but notice they were taking the long way around to her room… but she supposed she could forgive Azura.

“It’s… one of the many things, yeah,” she admitted with a sigh. “Azura… I stayed with you and Ryoma and the others because I couldn’t pretend to go along with Garon the way my other siblings do. Garon’s actions are… _monstrous_. But that didn’t make siding with Hoshido easy. Xander, Leo, Camilla, Elise… they loved me as their own sister my whole life, or at least the parts of it I remember.”

“It’s understandable, Corrin. I don’t think there was any right or wrong decision you could have made… but I find it very brave of you to choose to fight against the country where you’ve spent your entire life. I don’t think I could make the same decision quite so easily, regardless of right and wrong.” Gods, what would she do without Azura? Her siblings cared about her, Jakob and Felicia were endlessly supportive (mostly), and (almost) everyone else had been so nice… but no one seemed to really understand her like Azura.

“I know Iago is… not the _nicest_ guy. He can be downright nasty, and I don’t even want to think about the things he’s done for Garon over the years…” Corrin grimaced. “I jumped into a relationship with him head first, but I’ve never looked back and regretted it. I love him. But Xander calling me a traitor and acting the way he did towards me… that was shocking. If Iago had done it… I wouldn’t have been surprised at all.”

“Because of his position…?”

“Yeah… Iago’s always held Garon in really high regard. I was always scared about him finding out about us… not because I was worried about either of us being punished, but because I figured it would force Iago to choose between his loyalty to Garon and his love for me. And I… never thought I’d win that battle.” Corrin stared at her feet as she walked and leaned against Azura a bit more.

“Well, that’s clearly not true. He’s defied Garon to protect you… and he’s even willing to lead us right to him. He obviously cares about you quite a lot.” Azura gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, but even though it was nice to hear someone say it, Corrin felt… odd.

“…yeah…”

“Is something wrong, Corrin?”

“No… I’ve just got a bad feeling. I don’t know how to describe it…”

“You haven’t slept, and what we’re about to do is naturally quite frightening… but you shouldn’t discount your instincts. They’ve done us well this far,” Azura said. They finally reached her room, and Corrin wasn’t looking forward to climbing that ladder. “Perhaps if you sleep on it, you’ll have a better grasp on how you feel?”

“Maybe…” But she had a feeling it was more complicated than that. “Thanks, Azura. For… everything.”

“You know I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, Corrin,” she said brightly. “Now get some rest. You’re going to need it—we all are.”

 

* * *

 

That night, Iago didn’t sleep.

When they returned him to his damp cell, the only thing he could do was lie awake on the uncomfortable slab they called a bed and think about what had just transpired. The fact that he’d slipped enough to allow one of Hoshido’s ninjas to discover him and Corrin… it was proof of just how far he’d fallen. To think he’d ever let his guard down so much…!

Once he was alone with his thoughts, what he’d just agreed to really began to sink in. It was… true that he’d done some things he wasn’t proud of to help Corrin. But he’d never done any of it with the intention of bringing harm to Garon. As he thought about it, he realized he’d been so focused on action that he’d forgotten insight—he’d never even considered what might happen to His Majesty as a result of his actions. He’d strived to keep Corrin safe, but if Corrin was an enemy of King Garon…

And now… he would be leading Hoshidan forces right to Garon. Gods… what was he _doing_? How had one woman led him to fall so far? But at the same time, thinking about Corrin and her ragged crew going up against Garon _without_ his help…

Those complicated thoughts kept him awake until dawn, and he didn’t even have any answers to show for his lack of sleep. He was almost thankful when the red-haired brute of a ninja came for him and gave him something to focus on other than his own thoughts…

Now he stood in the courtyard of this strange, otherworldly palace that Corrin’s army had taken refuge in. It was the thief who took his bound hands and cut him loose.

“You better not try anything funny,” he growled. “I know what you Krakenburg types are like, and the moment you try any of your dirty tricks…”

“Don’t mistake me for you, gutter wretch,” Iago sneered in turn. “If I see one bit of silver pilfered from the castle, or one stray arrow let loose…”

“Alright, enough of that, now.”

Lady Azura inserted herself into their conversation, quite literally; she slipped in between him and the thief, as if they were about to start a juvenile fist fight in the middle of the courtyard. Of course, he couldn’t speak for the street trash…

“Iago, are you prepared for our departure?” she asked. “Remember, when we leave, we will be returned to the same place we entered the Astral Plane from. Time flows differently between this realm and our own as well… so it’s likely that very little time, if any, will have passed since our departure.”

“Yes, yes, I remember.” Even he was having a difficult time wrapping his head around this Astral Plane concept, so he’d chosen to do what all of Corrin’s companions seemed to be doing… simply going with the flow. “And to think I thought you nothing more than a stable hand all those years, Lilith.”

“And to think I thought you were just Garon’s puppet all those years, Iago,” Lilith returned, prompting his face to contort back into a sneer. Why did all of Corrin’s servants need to think they were witty? “I suppose we’ve both had our misconceptions.”

“Where’s Corrin?” he sighed. He had no desire to stand around making small talk with Corrin’s retinue any longer than he had to…

“Right here. Sorry I’m late.”

Corrin came striding up the path, flanked on one side by the green-haired ninja who had been with her in the room where they’d tied him up and on the other by an oddly familiar looking knight.

“Are we ready to go?” Corrin asked. She sounded so… _brusque._ It was jarring. Though he supposed it was better than her carrying her devil-may-care attitude into a confrontation with King Garon…

“Almost. Ryoma and the others are just finishing some last minute preparations, and we should be off,” Azura replied.

“You would think royalty would understand the importance of punctuality.” Iago rubbed his wrists where they’d been bound; he was going to have to keep the rope marks hidden, or else he would around suspicion.

“Iago, what’s our plan?” Corrin didn’t seem insulted by his comment about her siblings—nor did she seem to be paying attention to it.

“As simple as can be, Corrin—I’ll go ahead and ensure the way is clear for your party by ensuring any guards or other forces are diverted elsewhere. Then your group will have a clear shot to the throne room, though I doubt you’ll have much time before they realize the deception.” And he had no intentions of being around for that—if it was discovered he had helped the enemy to breach Garon’s throne room, he would be strung up in the streets before he could even cry for mercy.

“Don’t worry; we’ll make it quick.” Corrin took a deep breath, as if she were steeling herself. “Iago, I—I can’t thank you enough for this. For putting your faith in me.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Corrin,” he said. “There’s still a long way to go before we’re out of this mess you’ve made.”

“You’re telling me…” Corrin laughed nervously, and suddenly the serious, almost intense Corrin was gone, much to his relief. “Ah—there’s everyone now.”

She raised her hand in greeting as Prince Ryoma and the other Hoshidan royals came up the path, along with their retainers. It was quite the crowd—not exactly the best for sneaking around undetected, but he supposed that was _their_ problem to deal with.

“Ready, Iago?” Corrin reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, and as he looked in her eyes he realized—

He was in _way_ over his head.

“As I’ll ever be.”

 

* * *

 

The halls of Castle Krakenburg were the closest thing Iago had to a home. With how much time he spent working, he’d never seen much point in keeping a separate living place in Windmire, so long as King Garon was comfortable with it. Walking them now, knowing what he was about to do… it was almost too much.

There was still time to change his mind. He could walk right into Garon’s throne room and tell him about the Hoshidan plan to come after him—but rather than escape to protect himself, he was sure Garon would choose to set a trap for Corrin, and he didn’t want that either…

Gods, why did this have to be so _difficult_? Why couldn’t Corrin have just returned to Nohr when Xander and her other siblings had come for her? Damn him for falling in love with a woman of scruples…

“Iago? What’re you doing down here?”

He was so tense, he practically leapt through the ceiling when he heard Hans’ voice. Of all the people—! Well, at least he hadn’t been caught in the lower levels of the castle by someone _smarter_. He would have had a much harder time explaining his presence to someone like Xander.

“Why? Does my presence _bother_ you, Hans?” He sneered, hoping his usual prickly demeanor would be enough to send the thug scampering, but it seemed like that wasn’t enough to pierce his thick skull.

“Of course not. Just never thought I’d see you slumming it down here with the soldiers, Mr. Tactician.” Hans laughed like it was some kind of friendly in-joke they were sharing. Iago sneered even more deeply.

“As the _lead general_ of the Nohrian army, it’s my responsibility to ensure our soldiers are at their peak,” he said with a casual wave of his hand, as though this were completely normal for him.

“No need to worry about _that_. I’ve been putting ‘em through their paces, heh.”

“Pardon me if I don’t have the _utmost faith_ in your leadership abilities,” he drawled.

“Well, c’mon then. Lemme show you.” Hans grinned and turned to walk down the hall, gesturing for Iago to follow.

This part of the castle, just above the catacombs, was the barracks—and Hans was right. Iago rarely, if ever, demeaned himself by venturing into such a place. The pawns were his to move across the chessboard, but their training was someone else’s problem. If it were anyone other than Hans, they probably would have thought to question why he was there…

 “…so, we should be _more_ than ready if Corrin and her army show up. Not like that’ll ever happen, eh, Iago?” Hans slowed down just enough to give him a ‘hearty’ slap on the back. “She’ll be a little red puddle on the floor before she can even _think_ about getting this close to King Garon.”

“…indeed.” Iago sighed and slowed his pace so he fell behind Hans again. Hans didn’t seem to care, and started rambling on again without a care in the world. Pathetic, really. But his words reminded Iago that though Hans was not a particularly bright man, he was a threat in his own way… a brute with an axe and a lust for blood couldn’t do nearly as much damage as a sound tactical mind, but with Corrin on the front lines and Hans’ obvious distaste for her…

Well. It didn’t paint an inviting picture.

Hans led him into the armory, showing off that every weapon was sharpened to deadly efficiency, ready to strike down any Hoshidans that dared to get close to the castle and blah blah blah. Hans had never been the talkative sort before, but it seemed like even an ounce of power went right to his head, and Garon promoting him to general had put it into his head that _he_ was responsible for the strength of the Nohrian army and its successes in their campaign. Iago decided he’d had enough, and as they passed a table of weapons that had just been sharpened…

 “You know, Hans,” he said, promptly cutting him off as he put a hand on his shoulder. “I would say it’s been nice working with you, but there’s no point in lying when there’s nothing to gain.”

“Iago? What’re you—ghk!”

Hans’ sentence cut off into a bloody gurgle as Iago plunged the knife into his neck.

“My apologies, ‘friend’,” he said with a chuckle as Hans crumpled. He took a step back to avoid getting his blood all over him. “But you simply pose too much of a threat to Corrin to be allowed to live. Besides, the world is a better place for your absence…”

“Y-youuu bastard…” Hans wheezed and gurgled. He supposed it was hard for him to speak with a hole in his neck, particularly as he tried to cover it with a shaking hand. It was futile—Iago knew enough of anatomy to know that Hans would bleed out within the minute. If he’d had more time and focus, he might have been able to make it instant and save himself the trouble…

But that wasn’t quite as fun, was it? And certainly not what a man like Hans deserved.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Hans.” He chuckled as he wiped the blood on the dagger on Hans’ clothes. He might not have been so lackadaisical about being so close to a dying enemy if he wasn’t sure Hans had already lost too much blood to have the strength needed to wield that unsightly axe of his. “If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself.”

“King Garon—”

“Won’t miss you. In fact, he’ll probably never even notice you’re gone.” Iago smirked as he tucked the dagger into Hans’ belt and gave it a pat.

“Traaaitor…” At least, Iago was pretty sure that was what he said; it was hard to tell with the blood bubbling up between his lips.

“Sweet dreams, Hans. I’d say it’s been a pleasure, but…”

He got to his feet and watched dispassionately as the last glimmer of light disappeared from Hans’ eyes. Now he had a bloody corpse to deal with… though since he hadn’t gotten any of that blood on himself, he supposed it wasn’t that much of an issue.

“Normally I wouldn’t leave you out in the open like this, but I can’t be bothered to drag you around… and besides.” He grinned as he straightened out his clothes. “I doubt you’re going to be missed.”

Careful not to get any blood on his clothes, he stepped over Hans’ quickly cooling body and continued on his way. He might have had his reservations about helping Corrin—but this was far from one of them.

 

* * *

 

“…so, I’m relocating you to the western wing.”

“Yes sir!”

Xander watched the soldiers on guard duty salute Iago before heading away from their posts, towards the western quadrant of the castle. He narrowed his eyes.

“Iago. Might I have a word with you?”

The sorcerer took his time acknowledging him, but greeted him with that fake saccharine smile that always looked so disturbing on him…

“Of course, Lord Xander. I _always_ have time for the royal family… even at a time of crisis such as this. How might I serve you?” The sarcasm wasn’t lost on Xander, but he had years of experience in ignoring his attitude.

“I was simply wondering why, in a ‘time of crisis’ as you put it, you would be directing our forces _away_ from the central palace,” he replied. Leo had told him to keep an eye out for Iago, that his behaviour was… unusual. Since he’d never trusted Iago in the first place, he had no trouble believing that.

“Simple, my prince. There have been reports of Hoshidan forces infiltrating Windmire through the western gate. If we are to stamp out this incursion, we need every soldier capable of wielding a sword to stamp them out.”

“Wh-what…? Hoshidans here? How is that possible?” Had Corrin and her group really gotten so far? He had clearly underestimated her.

“Why, I’m sure I don’t know, Prince Xander. But nevertheless, they must be stopped before they can completely breach the palace. Your father’s safety is of the utmost concern.” Iago’s sass turned to complete seriousness, which he supposed was to be expected. No one took Garon’s safety more seriously than Iago… “In fact, I’m surprised you’re not there to lead our forces. Normally you’re the first among us to volunteer for such a task…”

“I… was unaware of the situation,” he admitted, though it shamed him greatly to say such a thing to _Iago_ of all people. “I’ll assess the situation immediately. Alert me if it changes. And Iago?”

“Yes, milord?”

“…nothing. I leave my father’s safety to you.”

“Of course, milord.”

Something in Xander’s gut told him that there was something… _wrong_ about this situation, but with the situation so dire, he couldn’t afford to stop and consider what that something might be. If the Hoshidans were at their doorstep, it was his duty as Crown Prince to protect his kingdom, and that duty had to come before anything else.

 

* * *

 

Iago almost couldn’t stop himself from laughing out loud; this was too easy! He’d fully expected the guards and soldiers to listen to his orders without question, but for even Prince Xander to fall for his ruse—it gave him a rush.

Of course, the hardest part was yet to come. Killing Hans, tricking soldiers (and Xander)… they were things he had no qualms about. He’d done the world a favor by ridding it of Hans, and his relationship with the truth was… _situational_ at best. But to go so directly against King Garon, even if the Hoshidans _truly_ wanted to do so without violence, even for the sake of protecting Corrin—he was still having second thoughts. Damn this distracted heart of his…

“Iago.”

His heart stopped. This time, though, he didn’t jump. Maybe he’d been expecting this and had never realized it…

“Your Majesty.” He turned to face Garon and bowed deeply. “How may I serve you?”

“Corrin has finally arrived, has she?” Garon looked strangely calm… certainly calmer than Iago had seen him in some time. It would have been comforting if the topic of conversation had been different, but Garon should _not_ have been so calm about the Hoshidan army arriving on his doorstep. “I would have expected her to arrive sooner.”

“K-King Garon…?”

“Come, Iago.” Garon turned to walk back towards his throne room. He didn’t gesture for Iago to follow, but the command was… _implied_. “We must prepare for her arrival.”

“O-of course, Your Majesty…”

There was something very, very wrong—Iago couldn’t quite explain it, but where his stomach should have been tied in knots from nerves, all he could feel was a cold chill run up his spine. For some reason, he had no fear of his treachery being discovered, but a very different sort of fear…


	13. end of all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin and the Hoshidan army finally breach Castle Krakenburg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed there's an official chapter counter now. That's right-- only one chapter and the epilogue left after this.
> 
> Enjoy.

“Keep an eye out, everyone. We can’t be sure that Iago’s managed to clear out all the guards, and we can’t afford to get caught now.”

Corrin kept her voice at a whisper as they climbed the stairs that would lead them from the catacombs to the proper halls of Castle Krakenburg. Saizo and Kaze took the lead so they could keep an eye out for any remaining guards or soldiers, while Kagero followed behind to cover up any trail they might leave. She and the others fell in the middle, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

“Yeah, if he really _is_ clearing out the guards…” Takumi muttered. Corrin wondered if she was even meant to hear it… but hear it she did.

“Iago will come through for us,” she said sternly. “I trust him.”

“I still can’t believe you’re in love with a guy like Iago!” Elise was obviously trying to keep her voice down, but she wasn’t doing a great job—from several steps up, Saizo turned around to shush her. “Oops! Sorry, hehe. But is it because of that ‘good girls secretly want bad guys’ thing Niles was telling me about?”

“Remind me to have a talk with Leo about what his retainers are teaching you…” Corrin winced. “Anyway, it’s not like that. It’s… hard to explain.”

“And maybe a conversation we should save for later?” Hinoka suggested, grimacing. “We are kind of in the middle of enemy territory here…”

“Indeed. Though the fact that we haven’t yet seen any guards is a good sign…” Azura said. They all came to a dead stop as Saizo and Kaze went ahead to scout and make sure it was the same further on. “I find it odd he hasn’t left any indication of what path we should follow, or any sign that he’s cleared an area, however.”

“Maybe he was worried about Garon’s men noticing some kind of sign?” Silas suggested. “The way to the throne room isn’t that difficult from here; I’m sure Lady Elise and I can guide us there.”

“Yeah…” Corrin had a bad feeling, though. The same nagging bad feeling that had been plaguing her since Azura had taken her back to her room the night before…

“Lady Corrin, I think you should look at this.”

Kaze reappeared by her side out of thin air, as was fitting for a ninja. Corrin was used to it by now, thankfully; she remembered when she would jump every time Kaze popped up out of nowhere.

“What is it, Kaze?” She followed Kaze out of the stairwell. They were in the castle proper now, but they didn’t seem to be near the throne room—it looked too rough and utilitarian. The barracks, maybe?

He led her to one of the many doors lining the hallway. Saizo was standing outside, leaning back against the wall.

“…your fellow is true to his word, at least,” he said with narrowed eyes. Before she could ask what he meant, Kaze silently opened the door for her, and she was able to answer her own question.

The room was clearly the armory, with weapons of all shapes and sizes lining the walls and lying around on tables, but the ‘centerpiece’ of the room was the body lying on the floor in a coagulated pool of its own blood, slumped against one of the tables.

A body, outside of the disconnected context of a battlefield, would normally horrify her. But this… brought her only peace.

“This is the soldier who attacked us alongside your sister in Cheve, is it not?” Kaze asked, appearing at her side again.

“Hans,” she replied with a nod as she looked dispassionately at his corpse. “Iago must have thought he’d be a bigger threat than the other soldiers. Or… he just didn’t like him very much.”

“…I wouldn’t have thought you’d treat this so casually, Lady Corrin.” It was a very Kaze way of expressing his concern, and normally she would have agreed, but Hans was the _last_ person who deserved her pity.

“Hans is the one who started all of this. He was the one who broke the treaty at the Bottomless Canyon, under Garon’s orders. And…” Corrin glowered at Hans’ body. She was sure the look on her face was almost as frightening as Oboro’s… but she didn’t care. “He killed the man who practically raised me… my caretaker Gunter. He got exactly what he deserved.”

“We should move the body to hide it better. It’s not exactly _smart_ to leave it sitting around out here.” Saizo’s dig at Iago was subtle enough that Corrin let it slide—especially since he wasn’t exactly _wrong_. “We should also _liberate_ some of these weapons while we’re here.”

“Agreed. Need any help?” She knew they didn’t, but offering seemed like the thing to do.

“Not at all, Lady Corrin. Please, leave this to us,” Kaze replied. “Though we shouldn’t waste too much time—perhaps Kagero should continue scouting on ahead. We can follow after and cover the trail instead.”

“Good idea. Meet up with us as soon as you’ve finished, but don’t take too long. I’d rather have you two with us when we face Garon than worry about us getting caught,” she said.

“Understood,” Kaze and Saizo said in unison.

Corrin left the two of them to do whatever it was they needed to do to get rid of Hans’ body and retraced her steps back to the group. After she relayed the plan to them, Kagero took the lead and guided them further into Garon’s castle.

Eventually they left the barracks and training grounds and found themselves in the palace proper. Corrin didn’t recognize anything, but then, she’d only gotten to see a very small part of Castle Krakenburg when her siblings brought her there for the first time.

“Well, Elise?” She turned to her younger sister, only to see her frowning quite deeply. “Elise? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… it’s just weird. I’ve never seen the castle this empty before… guess Iago did a good job at getting everyone to leave.” She looked around, then pointed towards one of the offshoot hallways. “The throne room’s that way! C’mon, let’s hurry before the guards come back!”

Well, Corrin couldn’t argue with that logic, and they followed Elise’s lead. She had to admit she had a point about it being weird… even what little she’d seen of Castle Krakenburg had been full of life, with servants and guards and soldiers going every which way, quick to scurry out of the way of her siblings. Now the halls were… completely empty.

“Here! This is it! Father’s throne room…”

A shiver went down Corrin’s spine. She remembered standing in front of this very same door, ready to apologize to King Garon for not mercilessly killing Kaze and Rinkah. It felt like a lifetime ago… but in the grand scheme of things, she supposed it wasn’t that long at all. Not compared to how long she’d spent believing herself to be a princess of Nohr and King Garon’s own daughter…

“Alright, everyone.” She was trying to keep very voice down as she turned to address their party. “There are no guards in sight, and Garon should be just on the other side of this door. This is our best, and maybe our _only_ shot. Is everyone ready?”

“Y-yes!”

“Where you lead, we’ll follow.”

“We’re ready when you are.”

“B-be safe…”

A chorus of similar lines went up, and Corrin nodded to each of them as they mirrored the sentiment. Pride swelled up in her. These were people who very well might have been her enemies in another life, and they were willing to follow her into what might as well have been the very depths of Hell…

“Well then… let’s go!”

They pushed open the massive double doors to the throne room, and were greeted by…

“Iago?!”

He stood almost in the center of the room, just before the elegant staircase that led up to Garon’s throne. He was standing… eerily still. He almost looked like a mannequin…

“Iago? What’s wrong? Where’s Garon?” The hairs standing up on the back of her neck told her that something was very, very wrong, but she took a few careful steps towards Iago regardless.

“Lady Corrin, be careful… this reeks of a trap.” Jakob had his throwing knife in hand and had fallen into a combat position, but Corrin was not one to be deterred. They had come this far expecting to be met with resistance, and if something _was_ wrong with Iago, she couldn’t simply stand back and wait for something to happen.

“Iago?” she repeated. “Iago, speak to me.”

“Corrin…” Iago’s voice was little more than a raw croak, as if he’d lost his voice and was only now starting to regain it. “You need to… get out of here…”

“Iago…?”

She had only moments to jump back and dodge the blast from Iago’s tome, the same blast with which he had nearly incinerated Flora—only this one wasn’t even powerful enough to crack the floor tile, never mind leave a crater in the ground like it had in Macarath.

“Lady Corrin!” Jakob surged forward to her defense, but Corrin threw her arm out to the side to stop him.

Iago took a step forward, but it didn’t look right; it was jerky and hesitant, almost like a puppet on strings. He took only a step and a half before falling to one knee, using a hand to support himself; there was a tight, strained look on his face, like he was in immense pain.

“Corrin… run… quickly…!” He cried out and fell to hands and knees, shaking with the effort. There was a green tinge to his naturally pallid skin, like he was about to be sick.

“Hmph… pathetic. Though I should have expected no better from a traitorous wretch like you.”

Corrin’s head snapped up. Having Iago around _was_ dangerous—but not for the reasons Jakob and her family were likely to argue. She hadn’t even noticed Garon at his throne—he might as well have appeared from thin air.

“Though you surprise me, Iago—I wouldn’t have expected you to have the willpower to fight back against me. Perhaps you have a spine after all.”

“Garon!” It took a lot of effort for Corrin not to immediately reach for the Yato. This was meant to be a peaceful negotiation—but Garon was already making that difficult.

Garon turned to look at her, but slowly, as though she weren’t worth his attention.

“Ah yes, the prodigal daughter returns. Welcome home, Corrin…” His face morphed from the stern, almost statue-like expression he usually wore to a truly disturbing smile. He started laughing, a low and ominous chuckle, until he was completely lost in his horrific insane laughter—and then, just as suddenly, he stopped, and was back to his stern expression. “You arrived faster than I expected, I must admit… though having a rat on the inside must have been helpful.”

“So much for _that_ plan…” she heard Takumi mutter somewhere behind her. Though this wasn’t exactly the time or place for his attitude, she could hear the stress and almost-waver in his voice… and she couldn’t blame him. Things had been going so well…

“What did you do to him?” Better to focus on what was going on; Corrin moved closer to Iago, her protective instincts flaring up, but she kept her distance. There was no telling if Iago was going to launch another attack at her.

“No more than he deserved. So much I’ve done for you over the years, Iago… only for you to be led astray by something as weak as the heart.” Garon’s face morphed into a truly horrific, monstrous _scowl_. “I’ve put up with your incompetence for years, and yet this _traitor_ was enough for you to forget your place.”

“You… knew…?” Iago was still shaking, but he forced himself to stand up. Corrin almost couldn’t help herself; automatically, she stepped forward to help him steady himself, but Ryoma’s hand on her shoulder kept her from forgetting herself. The danger hadn’t yet passed.

“Do you think me so simple I wouldn’t notice treachery from my own tactician? How your plans were satisfactory on the front lines but completely bumbling and incompetent at stopping the Hoshidans breaching our borders? It was a pitiful attempt,” he said, letting out a humorless laugh at Iago’s expense. “But it served my purposes just as well. Your ‘help’ bred overconfidence, which led these fools right to my door. Or perhaps you’re referring to how I learned of your pathetic affection for this traitor?”

“King Garon, enough of this.” Ryoma stepped forward, putting himself in front of her with his arms crossed. He projected a regal and stern air that would have terrified anyone else… but Garon didn’t seem very impressed. “We have come to demand an end to this senseless war. We don’t wish to engage in violence—just diplomacy.”

“Hmph. You’ve clearly misread the situation, _prince of Hoshido_. There is no room for negotiation; you’ve walked right into my trap!” Garon grinned again, and the coldest chill Corrin had ever felt ran down her spine. “Once I’ve wiped you out, no one will remain to threaten my conquest of your pathetic kingdom!”

Garon moved fast—faster than any man his size wielding an axe nearly as large should have. He raised Bölverk into the air—

—and Iago stood right in its path, still unable to move.

“No!”

Corrin didn’t have time to think. She leapt forward, shoving past Ryoma and too quick for the reaching grasps of Hinoka and Jakob, trying to pull her back to safety. Her dragonstone flared with a brilliant, blinding light—

Bölverk bounced off her scales with a horrible screech.

 Corrin resisted the urge to cry out; though the axe hadn’t breached her scales, the impact was painful enough, but she couldn’t afford to show Garon that. She reared up on her hind legs, swiping blindly with her long claws, then lashed out with her tail when she fell back to the ground. Neither connected, but both forced Garon back and away from Iago and her soldiers.

“C… Corrin...” She couldn’t turn to look at Iago, but she could hear the shock and awe in his voice. She’d forgotten that he’d never seen her in dragon form.

_Stay behind me, Iago,_ she said, her voice echoing from its strange intangible source as it always did when she took her dragon form. _His axe won’t get through my scales. Elise, Sakura, Azura—please, if there’s anything you can do to help him…_

“R-right!” Elise didn’t sound as sure of herself as she normally did, and she supposed it had to be pretty jarring for her to see Garon attack her like that—but she needed her to be focused on what was happening, no matter how frightening it might be.

“If he’s under some kind of control spell, my song might help…” Azura offered.

Ryoma and Hinoka were suddenly on either side of her, their weapons held defensively. Garon didn’t look bothered by their show. In fact, he looked… pleased.

“So, the Hoshidan rats have learned to bite, have they?” he chuckled.

“Last chance, Garon,” Hinoka said through gritted teeth. “You might be strong, but you can’t stand up against _all_ of us.”

“Please, Father! Don’t do this! End this silly war so everything can go back to the way it used to be!” Elise pleaded. But her words fell in deaf ears.

“All of you… you are worth less than the dirt beneath my feet. I won’t give such worms the luxury of surrender—die!”

He struck the end of Bölverk into the ground, making it crack open and spew with magical force. Corrin shrieked; her scales were tough, but her form was weak to magic, and it took all of her strength not to be blown away by the force of Bölverk’s power. The light in her dragonstone died out as she returned to her human form.

“Lady Corrin! Are you alright?” Jakob called out to her; her retainers and those of her siblings seemed to be at a loss for what to do. They had to defend themselves (and in their case, their masters)—but open hostility was a line that couldn’t be uncrossed, and they had wanted to settle the matter peacefully. Peace, however, seemed to be the last thing on Garon’s mind…

“I-I’m fine,” she answered, with only a small crack in her voice to contradict her. “Everyone! If King Garon won’t listen to peaceful negotiation, then I’m afraid _hostile_ negotiation will have to be the answer!” She drew the Yato and pointed it in his direction. “We gave you a chance, Garon—remember that this is the path _you_ chose.”

“Ha! Show me what power your toy sword holds, traitor. Your pathetic rebellion ends here!”

Garon swung Bölverk again, and Corrin lifted the Yato to block it—but the impact never came. The distinct _whoosh_ of a magic tome being cast and the brilliant, sparkling void of Ginnungagap came first, pushing Garon back and nearly toppling him off his feet.

“You… you _dare_?!” Garon looked beside himself with rage. Corrin knew it wasn’t wise to look away from him, but in her state of shock, she _had_ to.

Iago, though still quivering and green around the cheeks, was standing. His tome was open in one hand, cradled against his chest as if it were too much to hold it open and steady with just his hand, while his other was extended towards Garon for casting. He looked almost as shocked as Corrin felt—but his expression quickly turned to steel.

“King Garon… this is a fruitless battle. Surrender to the Hoshidans,” he said, his voice as devoid of feeling as his eyes. Corrin was deeply disturbed by the sight—but she supposed Iago would have to have a place like that, a place in his own head where he could go to push aside everything else save what needed to be done, even if he was well-adjusted to the horrors that had been asked of him over the years.

“My daughter, my advisor… to think so many people would be ready to betray their own kingdom. I will strike you down first, Iago, for your crimes against Nohr.”

“You’ll have to get through me first!” Corrin growled, brandishing the Yato against him once more. She heard Iago let out a shaky sigh… a sigh of resignation.

“I resisted standing up to you directly all this time… I struggled to keep both you and Corrin from harm, my liege. But you’re no longer the king I pledged my life and loyalty to… and I refuse to protect you from yourself.”

It was a very stirring speech, but the only thing it seemed to succeed in doing was taking the wind out of Iago’s sails, because out of the corner of her eye Corrin watched him crumple to his knees.

“I-Iago! Y-you’re badly hurt… conserve your strength…” Sakura waved her healing rod over Iago as Elise did the same with her staff. Corrin felt something cold welling up in the pit of her stomach, but she trusted her younger sisters and Azura to take care of whatever Garon had done to him.

“You heard him, Garon. Even your most loyal servant has turned against you. And I’m done talking.”

Corrin lunged forward, her sacred Yato practically pulling her along as though it were thirsting for Garon’s blood. Garon swung his axe at her, but she repelled it easily with her blade and moved in closer to swing the blade at his midsection. He grunted as it connected, and for a moment the Yato seemed to glow brilliantly. This was it—what might be her only chance.

With no regard to what Garon was doing, Corrin took another swing with the Yato. One of Takumi’s arrows found their mark—it struck Garon while avoiding her completely, as befitting the sacred arrows of the Fujin Yumi. Raijinto’s lightning also seemed drawn to Garon, regardless of her being in Ryoma’s path, as though all three sacred weapons knew exactly where to direct their attacks!

There was a rage welling up within her—not a cold anger like she’d felt in the war room, but a searing, red hot rage. This was the man who had kidnapped her after killing her father—the man who had locked her away in a fortress her entire life, depriving her of all but the most basic human contact—the man who had ordered one of her oldest and truest loved ones killed, murdered her mother and countless innocent Hoshidans, and now… the final straw on the overburdened camel’s back… he had hurt Iago and tried to force him to hurt her. How many more innocent people would suffer at this mad king’s hands? How many more of her loved ones would be harmed by the man she once called Father?

None. No more.

She felt her body morph and warp with that raging fire, her inner dragon pushing through even without her dragonstone. Like when Hans killed Gunter at the Bottomless Canyon, her dragon forced its way out, warping her appearance into that of a half human, half dragon. Her arm twisted into a gaping maw that fired a blast of the same water-like magic that appeared when Azura danced—and she followed up quickly with a strike from the Yato, screaming her rage and pain into the heavens.

Garon cried out in a different sort of pain as he flew back from the force of her attack and landed in a sprawled heap. The adrenaline in her veins and static power running up and down her skin prepared Corrin for him to get right back up—but he didn’t.

“King Garon…?” Iago stepped forward. Though Garon had just tried to _kill him_ , he still looked horrified at the sight of him lying in an unmoving pile on the floor. It sent a very brief pang of guilt through her—she’d come to Garon intending on a peaceful negotiation with violence as a last resort, and though he’d given her little choice but to attack, she’d been more brutal than was necessary. In fact… she’d _enjoyed_ killing Garon.

“…King Garon has fallen,” she said finally. She didn’t know what else she _could_ say—she was still overwhelmed. All that they’ done, all the time they’d spent and struggles they’d had, an suddenly it was just… over.

“I regret that it had to come to this.” As usual, Ryoma knew exactly what to say when she was at a loss. “My father greatly respected King Garon when I was young. But whether it was grief or madness or some other force that turned Garon into what he is today, he is no longer the man my father once knew, nor the leader Nohr needs him to be.”

Corrin knew it was an important moment, but no matter how much she tried to focus on the matter at hand, her thoughts—and eyes—kept wandering to Iago. He stood back with Elise while her siblings and the other members of her army started discussing peace treaties and the like. Whereas Elise—precious, innocent Elise—simply looked sad and resigned, Iago looked truly shocked.

(She supposed he’d loved Garon more than any of his children ever had, at the end of it all…)

While her Hoshidan family and friends did what needed to be done regarding the wellbeing and future of Hoshido, Corrin knew what _she_ needed to do. She’d gotten them this far; surely they could handle the rest on her own. Her Nohrian family and loved ones needed her. With Garon dead, Nohr would be in shambles—if anyone was up to the task of repairing their broken kingdom, though, it was Xander. With Camilla’s steady support and Leo’s brain and Elise’s optimism, they could make Nohr into the place she’d always dreamed of it being in her long days in the Northern Fortress—a place she hoped she still had a place in, after all that had happened…

She drifted through the crowd of serious but excited Hoshidans and stopped in front of her lover and younger sister. Elise immediately reached out to hug her round the middle, and she wrapped her arms around the back of her head.

“Oh, Elise… I’m sorry you had to see all of that.” She stroked her hair and rubbed her back. She could feel a small tremor in Elise’s body—and that guilt stung worst of all.

“It’s… it’s alright, Corrin. Ryoma’s right, and if even Iago thinks something was wrong with Father…” Elise trailed off and pulled away. She was smiling again, but it was a fake smile, the kind that she was wearing to hide how she was really feeling. “He tried to hurt you. You did what you had to do. I’m… gonna go over with Princess Sakura now, okay?”

“Okay, Elise.” She didn’t know what else she could say to her sister, so she let her scurry off to Sakura, who she seemed to be getting along with quite well.

That left just her and Iago. It was what she wanted, but at the same time, she was… afraid. Afraid the matter of Garon would drive a wedge between them permanently…

“So. It’s over.”

It surprised her that he was the first to speak. She’d expected the two of them to stand there in awkward silence until she found something to say. And honestly, she still didn’t know where to go from here, but… it was a start.

“I… suppose it is.” She was almost as shocked as he was, even if it was a very different _kind_ of shocked. “Iago, I—”

“Don’t, Corrin.” Iago sighed and turned—not away from her, but away from the Hoshidan party and Garon’s body. “Apologies and hypotheticals are no good to anyone now. And I’ve always seen them as a waste of valuable time.”

“Believe me, I know exactly what you think of apologies.” Corrin smiled, the best one she could manage, and it even coaxed the smallest, briefest twitch of the lips and under-the-breath chuckle from Iago. That alone was enough to lift her spirits… at least a little bit.

“Perhaps I didn’t realize it, but… I chose my side when I decided protecting you was more worthwhile than following King Garon’s orders. And I am _not_ a man prone to second guessing myself.” Well, Corrin could certainly agree with that. Though the way he didn’t seem to be able to look directly at her told her that wasn’t _entirely_ true… “I simply… need some time to process this.”

“Take all the time you need.” She reached out and placed a hand on his arm—Iago stiffened, then relaxed, even leaned towards her. “You can leave the rest of this to us… and Xander will take care of Nohr. I know he will.”

“I suppose—”

“Corrin!”

Iago was cut off by a sudden cry from Azura. Corrin whirled around—she had a clear view of the door, meaning the threat had to be coming from behind, and—

“Garon?!”

She knew it couldn’t be, and yet, it was. Had she been too hasty? Mistaken in thinking he was dead? No, his injuries—they were far too severe, and he hadn’t been moving, or breathing. What was happening?!

She raised her sword, ready for Garon to start attacking, but he simply… stood there. He looked almost like Iago had when he’d been taken control of. And then… he started laughing.

Corrin didn’t know what to expect. But none of the things she’d thought of could possible match up to… _this_. Garon’s body started to morph, to change, in a truly grotesque fashion. Soon his human form was indistinguishable—a mass, more than anything, which began to take shape in the form of… a _dragon_?!

_FOOLISH GIRL… DID YOU THINK IT WOULD BE SO EASY?_ Garon’s voice was horrible—a rumble deeper than the earth itself, coming from inhuman lungs. Did her voice sound like that when she was a dragon? No—that was all Garon. _THE BLOOD OF DRAGONS RUNS IN MY VEINS JUST AS IT DOES YOURS. WITNESS MY TRUE FORM!_

“K…king Garon?” She was sure all of this shock couldn’t be good for Iago, but that was a problem she could worry about later—once they were all out of this in one piece.

“By the gods…” At the first sight of Garon’s movement, her siblings and fellow soldiers had moved away. Ryoma, Hinoka, and Takumi stood before her, their retainers close at hand, while Sakura and Elise kept to the back… but Corrin moved forward, holding the Yato out before her. While her siblings were more than capable of protecting themselves, hers was the divine weapon that was said to bring peace to the world… and Garon had certainly not liked the kiss of its blade before.

“True form or not, we will not yield to you!” Corrin swung her sword in a display of power, but Garon didn’t seem intimidated in the slightest—not that it was easy to tell in his current form.

_NO MATTER… YOU WILL DIE!_

This new form of Garon’s was fast—too fast. By the time she realized he was swinging one of his massive wings at her, she barely had time to throw up her weapon and try to shield herself, never mind get out of the way.

Corrin blacked out momentarily from the force of the impact. When she came to, the first thing she heard was a chorus of voices calling out to her—then she realized she was face down on the ground a good two or three feet from where she’d been. Garon’s strike had been powerful enough to send her flying.

Instinctively she reached for her weapon, only to find… nothing. Still dazed, she looked around to see where the Yato had fallen—

—and found only pieces.

“Corrin! Are you alright?” Iago was suddenly kneeling in front of her, while her brothers and Hinoka surrounded her to prevent Garon taking advantage of her current state

“I’m—I’m fine,” she lied. She had to be fine, whether it was true or not, so… “But the Yato—it’s broken.”

Garon’s awful laugh echoed around the room, filling the space. It made her ears ring—or maybe that was just from being struck so hard.

_EVEN I AM SURPRISED. I SUSPECTED MORE FROM HOSHIDO’S GREATEST WEAPON._

“This… this can’t be happening…” She tried to get to her feet, but Iago’s hands on her arms kept her down—just as well, since her head started spinning just from that small movement.

“Hold fast, Corrin! Perhaps we do not have the Yato, but my Raijinto still thirsts for justice!”

“And my Fujin Yumi has plenty of target to hit!” Takumi added on, both princes holding their divine weapons at the ready.

“My lance may not be anything special, but don’t think I’ll hesitate to destroy you if you lay a hand on Corrin again!” Hinoka finished.

Garon laughed again, and Corrin _felt_ him lash out with the other wing—it made the ground shake. Her sister and brothers cried out and she felt the impact of bodies around her as Iago shoved her to the ground to make her a smaller target.

“No!” Sakura cried out. As soon as Iago backed off, Corrin was on her feet, head injury or no head injury. Ryoma, Takumi, and Hinoka were lying on the ground around her.

“Corrin, get down!” Iago was reaching out for her, but Corrin was moving too fast. Her siblings lying on the ground, Sakura and Elise huddled up behind the rest of the soldiers, Iago… all of them targets for this monster who had come out of Garon’s flesh.

No more, she’d said. No one she loved would get hurt by this monster anymore.

He almost moved in slow motion—this time she saw the wing coming as she jumped out, arms outstretched, making herself into the biggest target she could manage. She might have lost her weapon, but she still had a shield.

“ _Corrin_!”

There was pain on impact, and then—

Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (As usual, shoutout to JD ([@JD_meister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_meister/pseuds/JD_meister)) and Allie ([@Opalie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opalie)). They didn't beta read the chapter this time, because I wanted everything up to the finale to be more of an equal surprise, but they're still incredibly helpful and inspirational as always.)


	14. requiem knell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corrin makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. Just the epilogue to go. This project has been so amazing to work on and I'm going to miss it a lot-- but I'm also going to be really glad to have it finished. This will actually be my first finished multi chapter work that I've posted online! Though I don't imagine that will surprise most people who follow my work. xD

“…rri…”

“…orrin…”

“…time to wake up, Corrin…”

Suddenly, there was light. All she could see was orange as it fell across her face. She groaned and rolled over to hide her eyes from the shocking light.

“My, you’re quite a lazy bones, aren’t you?”

“Oh, she’s always been like that, milady. Corrin is far from a morning person.”

“She certainly wasn’t like that as a baby. She would have her father and I up at all hours of the morning, I swear!”

Those voices… Corrin recognized them. As much as she simply wanted to pull her pillow over her head and go back to sleep, she instead rolled over and carefully cracked her eyes open.

She blinked a few times and squinted as she struggled to adjust to the sudden influx of light. Blurry shapes haloed in bright sunlight slowly started to take form—until she found herself looking at someone very familiar.

“M…mother?”

“Ah, you’re finally awake.” Mikoto smiled warmly at her from where she was sitting beside her bed. “I never knew you were such a heavy sleeper, Corrin.”

“And I’ve been telling her that all you need is a bucket of ice water to solve that particular problem. Right, Corrin?”

“Gunter…?”

Corrin sat up and rubbed her eyes. More of the room started to come into focus—the screen doors, the bright sunlight streaming through the windows, the tatami flooring… it wasn’t her room at the fortress, but her childhood bedroom in the Hoshidan palace.

“How did I get here…?”

“Whatever do you mean, Corrin?” Mikoto asked. “This is your home. Surely you remember that much?”

“Just a little morning disorientation, I’m sure. No need to worry yourself, Lady Mikoto. A little morning coffee and a hearty breakfast should clear that right up.” Gunter stepped up next to her mother and put a hand on her shoulder. He wasn’t wearing his riding armor, but his serving clothes, though she distinctly remembered the last time she saw him he was in his armor—

Strange… why _did_ she last remember seeing him in his armor? It wasn’t like he wore it around all the time… had they been sparring?

She tried to follow that train of thought, but she ran right into a roadblock. Her memory was fuzzy—she could remember bits and pieces, but it seemed like there were huge chunks just… _gone_. She remembered being brought to Hoshido by Rinkah and Kaze, remembered finding out Mikoto was her mother and meeting her Hoshidan siblings, but… immediately before and immediately after were both rather hazy.

“Is something wrong, Corrin?” Mikoto reached her hand out to rest it on top of Corrin’s.

“No… no, Gunter’s right, I’m just having trouble waking up.” She reached up to rub sleep from her eyes. “Someone mentioned something about breakfast? And more importantly, coffee?”

“Yes, of course. But after that, I was thinking you and I could go for a stroll in the gardens. We have so much catching up to do…”

“That sounds nice! I’ve never walked through a garden before…”

“Oh, my poor Corrin… you’ve missed out on so much, haven’t you?” Mikoto frowned as she reached up to put her hand to her face. “Don’t worry, darling. We’re going to make sure you don’t miss out on a single thing from now on.”

“I always wished I could bring you outside of the fortress walls, to treat you to the childhood you deserved… and now, I fully intend to follow through with that.” Gunter smiled at her, and Corrin… felt like she was home.

Everything was perfect. She was free from the Northern Fortress, in her childhood room, with her mother and the man who may as well have been her father… nothing could have made her happier.

“Thank you, both of you,” she said brightly as she swung her legs out of bed. “That all sounds lovely. I wish every day could be like this…”

“It can, darling,” Mikoto replied. She was smiling, but after a few moments that smile faded to a strangely _serious_ look. “That is… if you _really_ want it to.”

“Mother…? What do you mean?” Corrin cocked her head, confused by her mother’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Corrin…” It was Gunter’s turn this time. “You’ve been fighting for a very long time. No one would blame you if you wanted to rest…”

“We just want to make sure it’s what _you_ want,” Mikoto finished.

“Fighting…? What are you guys talking about? I’ve been here… with you… haven’t it?”

The more she spoke, the more she felt sick. There was something just _not right_ about the situation, and it was starting to weigh on her just how _not right_ all of it was… why, for starters, was Gunter in Hoshido?

_“Corrin—”_

She jumped at the sound of her name. Gunter and her mother hadn’t spoken, so it had to have come from someone else—but it didn’t sound like someone calling from another room. It sounded like someone calling… from inside her own head.

_“Big sister!”_

_“B-big s-sister…”_

_“Wake up, Corrin!”_

And suddenly, it all came back to her in a flash. Her siblings bringing her to Castle Krakenburg—the fight on the bridge to Hoshido—the explosion in the square…

“M-mother…? Gunter…?” She looked back and forth between the two of them as the realization slowly started to sink in. “You both… I mean, Gunter, you fell, and mother… am I…?”

“No, Corrin. …not yet, at least.” Gunter’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, while Mikoto reached up to cup her face in her hand.

“This place… you can stay here forever with us, Corrin,” she said softly. “We can spend our days together talking, exploring, being a mother and daughter like we never got the chance to. No one would blame you for wanting to rest after all you’ve been through…”

“You know I want nothing more than for you to be happy, Corrin,” Gunter added. “And getting to see you enjoy the life you always deserved would bring me great joy. But Corrin…” His expression became suddenly serious. “You have to decide if that’s what _you_ want.”

_“Sh-she’s not b-breathing!”_

_“Iago, do something!”_

_“Get a hold of yourself, princess. Panicking isn’t helping!”_

The voices echoed in her brain like she was standing in the middle of a cave—but they were gradually getting quieter, more muffled, as though the speakers were drifting further and further away…

“I-Iago…?” And the other two voices must have been Sakura and Elise…!

“I can’t say I understand your tastes, Corrin… nor can I say I appreciate knowing you were going behind my back all these years.” Gunter frowned at her, and Corrin felt herself shrinking under the shame, but soon his expression softened. “But it seems as though you’re running out of time to make your decision.”

“Gunter is right. Before long, your body will be too far gone for you to return to it,” Mikoto said.

“Mother… Gunter…” Corrin looked back and forth between them. Her head throbbed—partially with the phantom pain of her injuries, and partially from the difficulty of the decision.

She didn’t want to leave them, not after having lost both so suddenly—but she knew she couldn’t leave the rest of her family either. Maybe she didn’t have her legendary sword any longer, but she couldn’t just leave her siblings, friends, and lover to Garon’s infernal devices…!

“…I’m sorry,” she said, leaning into their loving touches. “I love and miss the both of you so much… but I’m just not ready to join you yet. Not until I’ve seen this to its end. I need to go back.”

“We understand, darling.” Mikoto pulled Corrin into her arms, and Corrin felt Gunter’s hand resting on her back and rubbing small circles between her shoulder blades. “And I hope it’s a very long time before we see you back here.”

“I hope for the same,” she chuckled, but that laughter couldn’t quite hide the tears that were starting to run down her face. She had missed them both so much… having to say goodbye to both was more painful than she possibly could have imagined. But she had no choice—she knew exactly what she needed to do.

“Never forget that we’ll be watching over you, Corrin.” Gunter and Mikoto each put an arm around her, and Corrin did the same, burying her face in each shoulder in turn.

She squeezed her eyes shut, and slowly the feeling of being wrapped in their arms started to— _fade_. And as they faded, the pain started to return, bit by bit, until—

 

* * *

 

At first, all Corrin could hear was noise—a ringing from inside her own head, and the muffled sound of voices from somewhere above her. As the pain slowly returned, so too did the clarity—

“Iago, she’s not waking up! What are we going to do?!”

“Elise, get a hold of yourself! Hand me your staff!”

“B-big sister… please, wake up…! You can’t die!”

Corrin’s eyes fluttered open, her vision slowly clearing. Sakura, Elise, and Iago were all leaning over her, and all three of them looked exhausted; teary-eyed Elise looked the worst, all the colour having drained out of her, while Sakura was murmuring something as she gripped her rod tightly enough that her hands were shaking as she waved it over her. Iago had Elise’s staff, his own tossed off to the side when it had run out of power, and in between his magical chanting she swore she could hear pleas to the gods—something she couldn’t _ever_ remember hearing from him.

Suddenly, she realized she couldn’t breathe—there was a pressure on her chest like something heavy was sitting on it. Panic started rising in her as she struggled past it—until finally something gave and she shot up, eyes bulging as she greedily swallowed breath after breath.

“Ahhh!”

Sakura and Elise were knocked back by the force of her sudden sitting up, but Iago put his hand on her back and rubbed between her shoulder blades to help clear her airways. She sputtered, choking on her own throat.

“Slow, deep breaths, Corrin… the last thing we need is for you to start turning blue in the face.” He might have been making a morbid joke at her expense, but his voice was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard—even though every nerve in her body felt like it was on _fire_.

“Corrin!”

“Corrin, you’re okay!”

Suddenly she had her arms full of sobbing little sisters. Sakura was clinging to her and shaking, but Elise had a grip on her that was making it hard for her to breathe all over again.

“Princess Elise, try to rein in your excitement. The last thing Corrin needs is you choking her half to death when she can barely breathe in the first place,” Iago said sternly, and Elise apologized and scuttled off her.

There were so many things she wanted to say—but instead she folded forward and put her head between her knees. The pain and shock from dying and coming back to life was making a terrible nausea cocktail that she couldn’t really afford now!

“G-Garon—what happened to—” She started coughing again, and Iago’s hand started rubbing her back again.

“Corrin… please, save your strength!” Sakura pleaded as she rubbed tears from her eyes. “You’re still really hurt, and we spent all of our power to get you to w-wake up again!”

“Your brothers and sisters are fighting against that… _creature_ ,” Iago said, his hand moving to grip her shoulder—as much because he needed something to hold onto as to help her stay sitting up, she imagined. But there would be time for comfort later. She couldn’t just leave her siblings to fight Garon on their own—

Something struck the massive double doors that she’d been dragged beyond. The doors burst open, and Kaze dragged himself through the opening; the sounds of the fight suddenly burst forward, filling the room with sounds of violence.

“L-Lady Corrin!” He looked shocked to see her, but pleasantly so.

“Kaze! Are you alright?” She tried to crawl towards him, but a combination of Iago and the pain kept her rooted to that spot.

“That’s… not important right now. What’s important is the fact that you’re safe,” he said in his usual Kaze way.

“Kaze… how bad is it in there? And don’t lie to me.” She reached up to her shoulder and squeezed Iago’s hand before casually brushing it off.

“It’s…” Kaze hesitated, but in the end his loyalty won out over that hesitation. “I’m afraid Lord Ryoma, Lady Hinoka, and Lord Takumi won’t be able to hold Garon off for much longer. We’re all fighting, but even Raijinto and Fujin Yumi don’t seem to have much effect on him.”

“…that’s what I thought.” Corrin sighed and pushed herself to her feet. It was a slow, painful process, and she shook with the effort.

“Corrin! _What_ do you think you’re _doing_?!” Iago reached for her arm, but she once again shrugged him off.

She got to her feet and somehow managed to stay there. She looked around for her Yato, only to remember that Garon had broken it—but that didn’t matter. She still had one weapon left…

“Corrin, you must be out of your mind!” Iago jumped up and grabbed her, but she continued walking forward, pulling him along. “That monster nearly killed you while hardly lifting a finger! He’ll swat you like a fly, and I refuse to watch that happen!”

“Iago… I can’t just sit back and watch my siblings fight while I just stay here and do nothing!” Even with every inch of her body screaming at her to just stop and lie back down, she fought on.

“You don’t even have your sword anymore! What do you expect to be able to do?!” He tugged on her arm and she stumbled back.

She yanked herself from Iago’s grip and turned on him, glaring at him sharply.

“You’re not going to stop me from doing this. I can’t abandon my family, Iago!”

“And what about _me_?!” Iago wasn’t any closer to backing down than she was, and for several long moments they simply glared at each other—before Iago sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ve given up _everything_ to keep you safe… how can you expect me to just watch you throw your life away?”

“Then don’t,” Corrin replied, reaching out to take him by the hand. “ _Help me._ Fight alongside me! We can protect each other!”

Iago stared at her blankly for a moment before rubbing his hand down his face.

“Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” he said with a sigh. “Or, at least, anything more stupid than what you’re already planning on doing…”

“Deal.” Corrin smiled at him, even past the pain and the fear and the doubt. Gunter and her mother might be watching over her from wherever they had ended up—but in the here and now, she had Iago watching her back, and that was all she could have asked for.

“Lady Corrin, are you certain about this?” The words had barely come out of Kaze’s mouth when someone inside the room screamed, and Corrin realized the time for words was over.

 

* * *

 

“Hinata! Oboro!” One of them had screamed, but Takumi didn’t have time to look back and see which of them it had been; it pained him, but if they didn’t take Garon down soon, it wouldn’t matter. He pulled back the string of the Fujin Yumi and another wind arrow appeared in his hand.

_FOOLISH CREATURES… DID YOU BELIEVE YOU COULD DEFEAT ME?_ Garon’s horrible, rumbling laughter echoed through the room. It wasn’t the first taunt he’d levelled at them, but with each passing moment they become more and more effective; they were exhausted, demoralized, and fighting only because none of them could even imagine giving up. If they didn’t find an edge soon…

Garon swung his massive wing in their direction and Takumi ducked and covered, not sure his body could withstand another sudden strike—when a sudden blast of magical energy made Garon shriek and recoil. The damage seemed slight, but the surprise gave them a chance to recover.

“Iago?!” Hinoka’s shocked exclamation pulled Takumi’s attention to the door, where Iago was indeed standing, tome in hand; he looked exhausted, and he was covered in blood—Corrin’s, no doubt—and he didn’t look eager to rejoin their fight. “What’s going on?! What happened with—Corrin?!”

—and there was the woman herself. Corrin limped in behind Iago, holding her side like she had a stitch. She was obviously injured, in no condition to be fighting—but she was _alive_ , and that was a definite improvement.

“Corrin, get out of here! If Garon hits you again…!” Hinoka cried as she parried one of Garon’s strikes with her naginata. Takumi fired his prepared arrow, but it simply bounced off Garon’s scales.

Corrin ignored her—in fact, it almost seemed like she hadn’t heard her at all. Though slowly, Corrin limped forward, occasionally leaning against Iago to help her balance but otherwise acting as though there were no one in the room other than her and Garon. There was a fierce determination in her eyes that sent a shiver down Takumi’s spine.

“King Garon, or… whatever you are now,” she said loudly, her voice echoing through the room. Though they’d all been stunned by her sudden reappearance, they all fell into defensive positions as Garon’s full attention turned to Corrin. “Surrender now, and we’ll spare your life. This is your last chance!”

Garon’s booming, horrible laughter filled the room and made Takumi’s ears ring horribly. He struggled not to grip his head and put it between his knees, but he didn’t want to be left defenseless!

_ARE YOU SO EAGER TO DIE AGAIN, CHILD? VERY WELL THEN… LET US SEE HOW YOU—_

Garon was cut off by another magic blast courtesy of Iago. He had a pinched look on his face, as though he were in pain—not physical, but mental. Corrin stepped out in front of him, her dragonstone glowing brilliantly.

“You’re a dragon now, so let’s settle this dragon to dragon, shall we?” As she put her hand to the dragonstone, it glowed even more brightly, and her antlers started to grow from her head. Claws sprouted from her hands as her plate armor started to morph into her scale plates.

Corrin roared and reared up on her hind legs. Her plates were cracked in places, and when she came back down on all fours she wasn’t exactly graceful, but still she firmly stood her ground.

_PITIFUL CHILD! BELIEVING YOU COULD—ARGH!_

“We’ve heard enough of you!” both Takumi and Iago managed to say in unison, as both magic and arrow found their target. Hinoka and Ryoma both fell back to catch their breath; Corrin’s appearance had given then a second wind, and exactly the push they all needed.

Garon’s head swivelled in Iago’s direction, tail lashing and horrific eyes blazing. Corrin prowled in front of him, ready to use her body as a shield like she had before.

_TRAITOR…_

“Hardly,” came Iago’s bitter reply. “I was loyal to King Garon. Whatever manner of beast _you_ are, there’s not a shred of the man I was once loyal to in you!”

_JUSTIFY ALL YOU’D LIKE, BUT YOU’LL STILL BURN!_

Garon reared back, and Takumi wanted to call out to the both of them to watch out for his putrid breath weapon, but before he could even get the words out Corrin struck him upside the jaw with her tail. Garon roared and recoiled, but before he could recover Iago launched another magical attack at him and pushed him even further back. Corrin took advantage of him being caught off guard to strike at him again before launching her own breath attack at him.

Garon shrieked, a completely inhuman sound that made everyone cover their ears. Corrin and Iago’s sudden onslaught had been enough to catch him off guard and push him back, but hadn’t been doing any real damage; _that_ had obviously hit him where it hurt.

_This ends now, Garon!_ Corrin reared back and lashed out to strike him with her claws again. Garon roared and lashed out at her with his wing, which she took full on without so much as flinching—but there was no way she could take many more of those, not in her condition.

Garon tried to follow up with a second strike from the opposite wing, but was repelled by another of Takumi’s arrows, which pierced the softer membrane of the wing rather than bouncing off his scales. Garon’s neck hadn’t even completely swivelled in Takumi’s direction when Ryoma rushed up to join Corrin, the crackling lightning of Raijinto launched right into Garon’s face, making him shriek out in pain again.

“We’re with you, Corrin!” Hinoka rushed up next to her, while Azura and Takumi stood behind to provide support. Takumi already had another arrow nocked and ready to fire.

Garon had hardly taken a break in his insults and taunts during the course of the fight, but it seemed like words were now beyond him. He roared, lunging at them, but they were ready for him—and he was met with a wall of force, physical and magical and some in between.

The room was suddenly filled with white light and a piercing shriek that deafened everyone. The light and sound left them all disoriented, with the after images in their eyes and ringing in their ears.

Takumi rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to clear his vision and the tears from the horrific noise. As the fog lifted, the first thing he saw was Corrin, no longer a dragon, lying in a heap in front of him—a sight that made his blood run cold before she pushed herself to her hands and feet and put a hand to her forehead.

They all shakily rose to their feet. The force of their combined powers had thrown Garon back, leaving him crumpled to the ground with his wings folded around him.

_HOW… DARE YOU…_

Any trace of humanity that might have been left in Garon’s horrific voice was gone, and he let out another ear-shattering roar.

_IF I AM TO DIE HERE… YOU SHALL ALL DIE WITH ME…!_

Suddenly he launched himself to the side and crashed into the wall. The ancient stone cracked and buckled under the force of his weight, making the entire room shake. He did it again with the opposite wall, a simple feat considering his massive size, and waves of dust along with chunks of stone started to rain down from the ceiling.

“He’s going to bring the whole damn castle down on us!” Iago lifted his arms to shield himself from the dust just as Takumi rolled to just barely avoid a fist-sized stone.

“Quick, back to the tunnels!” Shura called, already standing at the door and waving for everyone to follow. As was their duty, the retainers came forward to help them regain their senses and get them to safety before worrying about themselves—except for Subaki and Hana, who had presumably already taken Sakura and Princess Elise to safety.

Iago helped Corrin to her feet, but she was still stunned from the light and sound, and with both of them injured he was struggling to half-drag her towards the door as debris rained down around them. Azura retreated back to them and put Corrin’s other arm around her shoulders.

The rest was a blur—the whole group stumbling out of the throne room, running for their lives towards the underground tunnels as the walls and ceilings started to collapse, dodging falling stones and struggling to see through the dust. The more steadfast members of the group kept the order, making sure no one fell underfoot or was trampled, and it was sheer luck that the structural damage didn’t extend to the tunnels—being built into the solid rock foundation Castle Krakenburg was built over, Garon’s toppling of the castle walls were unable to crumble them in the same manner.

The next clear memory any of them had was of being in the clear fields of the Astral Plain. Those soldiers that hadn’t accompanied them to the castle raid came out of their tents, confused and concerned, as they all lay or knelt there in the grass, coughing up rock dust and catching their breath.

“Corrin! Corrin, are you alright?” Lilith hovered worriedly around Corrin, who was on her hands and knees in the center of it all. She coughed so hard it sent her muscles into spasms, but it had little to do with the dust she’d breathed in; Iago was kneeling next to her, rubbing her back as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Y-yeah… I’m fine,” she replied as her coughing started petering out. “Is Garon… did we…?”

“If that wing of the castle really did collapse, not even a creature that size would have survived,” Iago said, sitting back on his heels.

Everyone exchanged uneasy looks. They all wanted to believe that Garon had been defeated once and for all, but without evidence…

“I’ll go and see!”

“Princess Elise?” All eyes turned towards her. Ryoma shook his head. “No, I simply can’t ask you to do something so dangerous.”

“I’m gonna have to go back anyway! Otherwise Xander and the others will get worried,” Elise said, shaking her head. “And since Lilith is going to spit you guys out back in the catacombs, you’re going to need me to talk down them and the soldiers, or they might attack you before they realize what’s going on!”

“Princess Elise is right,” Iago said, rising to his feet and helping Corrin to her own. “You’ll need someone speaking on your behalf who won’t be struck down on sight, and if Prince Xander will listen to anyone, it’s her. “I’ll accompany her ahead of the rest of you.”

“Iago… thank you,” Corrin said breathily, putting her hand to her chest. “Without you, I feel like this would have gone very differently. Just…”

Obviously at a loss for words, Corrin stopped trying to talk and instead put her arms around him. Both of them winced from the pain, but even though the two of them could barely keep themselves standing up, they relaxed into each others’ arms.

Perhaps there was a long road ahead of them before the war was truly over and just a bad memory… but for the moment, there was peace, and they could breathe again.

 

* * *

 

“Stand aside! Let me through!”

The soldiers and servants, murmuring among themselves and gawking at the instruction, didn’t heed his command—in fact, very few seemed to have heard him at all. He might have started shoving his way through the crowd if Laslow and Peri hadn’t taken it upon themselves.

“Make way! Crown prince coming through!”

“Anyone who doesn’t wanna get stabbed better get out of my way right now!”

Soon the crowd caught on, making a path for Xander. He forced himself not to rush, to maintain his air of dignity, but the fear welling up inside of him was hard to ignore.

“Xander! Thank the gods!”

Camilla appeared seemingly out of nowhere at the front of the crowd, Leo just behind her. Xander nearly breathed a sigh of relief—until he saw that Elise wasn’t with them.

“Where’s Elise?” He looked around, trying to see if she was having trouble getting through the crowd as he had, but he didn’t see a single hint of blonde twintails.

“We can’t find her either,” Leo replied. “We were hoping you’d seen her.”

“You don’t think she—?” Camilla obviously couldn’t bring herself to say it—and Xander couldn’t blame her. Even imagining the possibility…

“What _happened_ here?” He’d felt the vibrations, heard the horrible noise as the main wing of the castle fell in on itself, taking out the throne room and many adjacent chambers—but because of Iago’s warning that Corrin and her group were attacking from the west, he’d thankfully been away from the central wing, along with the rest of the guards and soldiers.

Wait—

“Milord, look!”

Laslow grabbed him by the arm to get his attention, pointing towards the wreckage. At first, all Xander could see was rubble—until he finally saw—

“Elise!”

“Big brother!” She ran right to him, and no matter how much dignity it cost him, Xander scooped her up and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Elise, where have you—” He cut himself off when he spotted someone following Elise at a respectful distance, waiting patiently to be addressed perhaps fifteen feet away.

“Iago.”

“Milords, milady.” He gave a deep, formal bow that seemed almost… _too_ formal, given the situation. Not that Xander needed any reason to suspect him further…

“Iago, where is my father?” It was too convenient that Iago redirected all of Nohr’s forces out of the central wing just before it collapsed—he’d learned long ago that there were few coincidences where Iago was concerned. He was far too paranoid to leave much of anything to chance.

Iago sighed. He looked like he was… in pain, scrunching his eyes together like Xander had punched him in the stomach. When he opened them, though, his expression was carefully schooled back into his usual condescending neutrality.

“King Garon… is dead.”

A wave of shocked murmuring went up in the crowd. Xander felt his blood run cold in his veins. How could he have _ever_ fallen for such a ruse? He’d been a fool to trust a backstabbing monster like Iago with his father’s wellbeing—!

“You traitor!” He set Elise down on the ground and drew Siegfried in one smooth motion—or, that would have been the case if Elise had not grabbed onto his arm as he was in the middle of drawing the sword.

“Xander, no! It’s not Iago’s fault!”

“Elise is right—it was me.”

More shocked murmurs broke out in the crowd at the clear, familiar voice that cut across the courtyard—and from the same direction that Elise and Iago had come from.

Corrin stopped next to Iago. She was unarmed, and obviously injured—for that matter, so was Iago, both of them looking like they’d been through Hell.

“Nohrians!” It certainly didn’t affect her voice, which was strong, and cut easily through the commotion of the crowd. “Your king is dead. His tyranny and fear-mongering are at an end. Please, I beg of you—put down your weapons and end this war. All we desire is peace!”

And suddenly—silence. Not one soldier knew what to say, though all looked ready to draw their weapons at a moment’s notice; they were simply waiting for the order. _His_ order. With Garon dead, rulership fell to him now… even Leo and Camilla were watching him expectantly, waiting to see what he would do.

“Xander…” He felt another tug on his arm, and looked down at Elise. There was no uncertainty in her eyes—she was looking up at him with raw determination. “Father is gone… we don’t need to fight anymore! Please, listen to what Corrin says…”

Xander wasn’t proud of it, but he had no idea what to do. It was true that he’d never approved of this war—but so much of Nohr’s finances and resources were sunk into it, in hopes of a great reward from conquering the fertile nation of Hoshido. Could he really place his morals above the wellbeing of his country…?

And furthermore, what obligation did he have to negotiate with the person who had killed his father, whether she was his sister or not?

He looked over to Camilla and Leo. Both nodded at him—almost imperceptibly. With that and Elise still looking up at him with those wide eyes of hers…

“…fine. You will have your armistice. I will send the orders at once.”

The assembled crowd gasped—some in delight, some in horror, others in simple shock.

Corrin smiled at him, brightly—but he could not bring himself to smile back. Not only because so many Nohrian eyes were on him… but a sharp feeling in his heart drove away any desire to smile.


	15. epilogue: journeys end in lovers meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

“Corrin?”

She turned so fast she nearly stumbled—she was still getting used to these Hoshidan clothes, though it was nice to be wearing simple sandals and not some of the more complicated things she’d seen Hoshidan women wearing.

“Ryoma!” She stepped forward and hugged her older brother, a task made much easier when he wasn’t wearing that massive pointy armor he usually wore. “Your speech was great—sorry we talked through the end of the ceremony.”

“Not to worry, Corrin,” he said with a chuckle. “I could hardly hear you—Yukimura is just strict. But more importantly… I believe there are some guests who wish to speak with you.”

It shouldn’t have surprised her—she was the newest Hoshidan princess, and a symbol of the peace between Hoshido and Nohr, though that peace looked much better on paper. She supposed it was too much to ask that tensions quiet down so quickly… after all, Hoshido had lost a queen, and Nohr had lost a king, both to the same conflict. Those wounds would take time to heal.

“Well, I’ve got plenty of time, where are—”

“Corrin!”

She cut off mid-sentence, not because she was interrupted, but because the sudden flying tackle hug to her midsection briefly knocked all the air out of her and nearly toppled her over; if Ryoma hadn’t caught her by the shoulder, she would have ended up flat on her behind.

“Elise! You made it!” Now that she’d regained her footing, she picked Elise up and spun her around—it wasn’t easy to do in her outfit, but she managed.

“We all did, dear.”

Camilla stepped forward, her arm linked with Azura’s. It made Corrin’s heart swell, and helped fuel the fires of her hope.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’ve stolen Azura away for the afternoon. She’s been telling us so many fascinating stories!”

“Yeah, it’s been so much fun having ANOTHER big sister!” Elise giggled.

“I’m so glad you made it—I just hope you haven’t been tormenting her,” Corrin replied. Now it was Azura’s turn to laugh, a demure little titter.

“Not at all. I’ve had a lovely time,” Azura assured her, sharing with her a smile that she only ever seemed to have for her—and Corrin gave her one right back. “Though I may need to rest up a bit before the rest of the festivities tonight.”

“Not a terrible idea. After that somber coronation, I had no idea Hoshidan parties could be so… rowdy,” added Leo, who stepped forward to join Camilla.

“Leo, you came to! You have no idea how happy I am to see all of you here.” Even though she knew it wasn’t exactly becoming, Corrin could keep her laughter contained any longer, and she could no longer resist surging forward to put an arm each around Camilla and Leo.

“Well… not _all_ of us.”

“Leo!”

“What? It’s only the truth.”

“I know, but don’t you think that’s a little heavy a topic? This is supposed to be a celebration...”

As Corrin pulled away from her siblings, she smiled and pretended not to know what they were talking about—even though Xander’s absence was like a glaring hole.

“How is Xander doing?” she had to ask.

“He’s… better,” Camilla replied, with what had to be the worst lying smile she’d ever seen.

“Truth be told, we haven’t seen much of him,” Leo added much more truthfully. “He’s been locked away in his chambers and so many meetings, it’s rare to even catch a glimpse of him. With the state the war and Father’s rule left the kingdom in, I suppose it’s no surprise…”

“Yes, he’s terribly busy. I’m sure that’s why he wasn’t able to make it,” Camilla followed, once again with that terrible lying smile.

Corrin was disappointed—but she couldn’t say she was surprised. Xander had agreed to the armistice and the peace treaties that she and Ryoma had put forth, and had seemed satisfied with the proposed trade agreements, but he hadn’t seemed… _happy_ about any of it, or even content. There were a lot of negative emotions flying around, but Camilla and Leo had come around quickly enough—like Iago, they knew that Garon hadn’t been himself for a long time, and was beyond redemption, and seemed to accept that Corrin had done what she’d done to defend herself and her loved ones. Xander, though, seemed unable to move past it—even though he’d been the one always saying how much Garon had changed, since he had been able to witness it firsthand.

“Well, what’s important is that you guys _are_ here. Can you stay for the festivities?” She put on the best smile she could—and though she was concerned for Xander, she _was_ happy to see the rest of her Nohrian siblings, so it wasn’t as hard as she first thought.

“Only tonight, we have to leave first thing in the morning,” Camilla replied. Elise groaned.

“Really, Camilla? Can’t we stay a little bit longer? I wanted to play with Corrin and Sakura and Azura!” she pouted, wrapping her arms around Corrin’s midsection.

“Oh, I wish we could, Elise, but Leo and I have important business to tend to back in Nohr, and Xander would be just beside himself if we left you behind by yourself,” Camilla said, reaching out to gently pet Elise’s hair. Elise continued to pout.

“But I wouldn’t be by myself, wouldn’t—”

“Elise! Remember what we told you?” Leo said sternly. “You’re not supposed to talk about that.”

“Ohhh, yeah! Because it’s supposed to be a surprise, right?”

“…yes, Elise. Because it’s supposed to be a surprise.” Leo sighed. “Though not a particularly _good_ surprise, if you ask me…”

“What are you guys talking about?” She cocked her head in confusion at the three of them. Camilla and Leo shared a look that spoke volumes, simply staring at each other until Camilla sighed and shook her head.

“Elise, Azura invited us to go take a walk in the square and see the stands. Why don’t we go do that while you let Corrin go out to the balcony?” Camilla suggested, reaching her hand out to Elise. Elise gave Corrin one last squeeze before detaching herself and taking Camilla’s hand.

“Bye, Corrin!” Elise said as she quickly latched onto Azura instead. “We’ll see you later!”

“Have fun with Azura,” she said with a little wave. “And be sure to be back in time for the feast!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get them back in time,” Azura said, waving back to her as she led the Nohrian siblings off.

Corrin watched them leave, then turned. Just off the private receiving room she was in was a balcony with ornate sliding doors, which gave a beautiful view over the city, especially when it was lit up for festivities like it was now; Hinoka and Sakura had made quite a show of pointing it out to her. She walked over to the doors and slid them open, only to find—

“Iago?”

“Good evening, Corrin.”

Corrin broke out into a bright grin and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow to throw her arms around him.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” She was so excited, she actually lifted Iago off his feet a little! He made a small surprised noise in the back of his throat. “How could you not mention this in any of your letters?”

“Because it was supposed to be a _surprise_ , daft girl,” he said as she set him back down, noticing for the first time that he wasn’t wearing his mask—or most of the more ornate trappings of his outfit. “Or did your siblings not manage to convey that bit of information?”

“Stop that, you.” She pulled away from him and smacked him playfully on the arm, though the illusion was rather broken by the fact that she was still grinning like a loon.

Iago took her by the hand and guided her to the railing. The view of the city was just as beautiful as she remembered it—but it was sort of lost on them, since they couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

“Hoshidan clothing suits you,” he said, bringing her hand up to his face so he could kiss the back of her hand. She giggled, and it made him grin. “It’s especially good to see you wearing shoes for once in your life.”

“And being charming suits you,” she replied. “In reasonable doses. How long are you going to be staying?”

Longer than her siblings, she hoped. Though they’d been writing letters back and forth, it was agonizing to be so far apart from so many people she cared about, and one evening wasn’t nearly enough time to spend with all of them!

“Well… if everything goes as planned… indefinitely.”

Corrin… stared at him. Blinked once. And again. And when she was certain he wasn’t going to say he was joking, she finally decided to take a breath.

“I—are you serious? You’re… staying here? What about your job?” Corrin couldn’t wrap her mind around it; his career had always been the most important thing in Iago’s life! Aside from Gunter’s objections, it was the main reason they’d kept their relationship a secret, knowing that if Garon asked it of him Iago would drop her like a hot stone.

“Considering I assisted in a plot that ended with the killing of the King of Nohr, I doubt I’m going to be welcomed back as the kingdom’s head sorcerer and general,” he said with a roll of the eyes. “Lord Xander seems more than happy to send me on my way. And without Garon…”

Iago trailed off, his eyes wandering away from her and off into the distance. He might have been admiring the scenery—but she could see it in his eyes, which weren’t anywhere earthly, but somewhere far away.

Corrin moved closer so she was pressed up against Iago’s side. She put a comforting arm around him, not sure what she could say—it was a huge wound, one she’d never wanted to inflict on him. The Garon she’d known was a monster—but the Garon Iago had known was someone he was willing to live and die for.

Iago leaned into her for a moment before pulling away and clearing his throat. It hardly surprised her; emotions weren’t exactly Iago’s strong suit, though she hoped he would be comfortable sharing them with her some day soon…

“Regardless, it seemed like it was time to retire. And since a good chunk of the Nohrian populace sees me as the traitor who helped the Hoshidan army kill the king… well, Hoshido is hardly my favorite place, but I’m sure I’ll adjust, if you’re here.”

“You really mean it? You’re going to stay here with me?” Maybe it was selfish of her, considering she’d just been consoling him over the death of someone important to him, but Corrin could hardly contain her excitement.

Iago turned back to her with a strangely soft look in his eye. Others might have found it odd, but Corrin had seen that look before—that expression he shared only with her.

“If you’ll have me,” he replied, extending a hand to her that she was clearly meant to take.

Corrin had always been one to go her own way, however.

She grabbed Iago by the front of his outfit and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. It was the first they’d shared since that clandestine meeting with Iago behind bars—so much had been going on, and she’d had to return to Hoshido so quickly after Garon’s death, that they’d had no time alone since then. Now, though… now it seemed like there was going to be plenty of time.

Iago recovered from the shock quickly enough, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders even after she broke away—they both still needed to breathe, after all.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled, and Corrin laughed too as she held him tightly.

There was a cheering in the far distance, and several loud popping noises; suddenly the world was illuminated in a variety of colors. Fireworks had been going off since the coronation, but this seemed like an especially impressive display, and Corrin turned her head so she could watch them while still snuggling up to Iago.

“Are you certain you’re ready to deal with being the public lover of a member of the royal family?” she asked, and Iago chuckled again.

“I think I can handle it,” he replied. “And either way, it’s preferable to being beheaded by Lady Camilla.”

“Glad to hear it,” she said with a roll of the eyes, just as another massive firework that looked like a pink flower went off. She sighed—with contentment. “I love you, Iago.”

“I love you too, Corrin.”

 

* * *

 

“And what about this, Lord Xander?”

“We found it in the rubble, but we weren’t sure if you wanted it incorporated back into the structure.”

Xander looked at the odd, circular disc; it was bigger than he remembered, but then, it had been on the ceiling, so perhaps it was just a matter of seeing it up close for the first time.

Such an odd statue… he’d never understood why his father had been so enamored with it even before he had called it an incarnation of his deity, but the more he looked at it, the more he had to admit it had a certain strange charm to it…

“Yes, let’s do that. It’s what my father would have wanted.” Perhaps Garon would go down in history as a crazed war criminal, but he was still his father, and he wanted to honor him in some small way.

Xander stared into the eyes of the statue, and the statue stared back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, guys... it's over. I'm not sure what to say! This was the first multi-chapter fic I've actually finished, and it was quite an ambitious project. Many playthroughs of Birthright went into the writing of this fic, many hours of writing, and I'm very happy with the final product. I'm so glad to contribute something to this fandom that people enjoy, and even happier to contribute something of this scale to this particular pairing, which deserves all the love I can muster.
> 
> Special thanks go to JD ([@JD_Meister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_meister/pseuds/JD_meister)) and Allie ([@Opalie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalie)), as always. Thank you guys so much for supporting me in this project, being there with helpful critiques and plenty of cheers. I know I wouldn't have been able to finish it without you.
> 
> See you guys later.


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